High School of the Dead lNaruto Versionl  SasuSaku
by MemoryWriter
Summary: When Sakura finds her school overtaken by a mysterious zombie-infection she and her former best friends Sasuke & Naruto try to survive together. Now Sakura wants to find all of their old childhood friends who moved away to make sure they're alive.
1. Premonition's Escape

**Here's a new story!  
It's August, so I felt like adding something new to my collection of unfinished stories.**

**I'm horrible aren't I. The Summer's made me lazy with updates.**

**Either way, my friend showed me a new anime called High School of the Dead, and I've been so addicted to it and eventually I came up with this. **

**This one's about Sakura Haruno and her old two best friends, Sasuke and Naruto, who try to escape their school from a sudden zombie-attack. After drifting apart through high school, they decide to band up together again and try to find their old friends who have moved away back in elementary school. However they must do it alone in an apocalyptic world.**

**Probably a cliche idea coming from me, but I hope you'll like it. Hopefully it's not _too_ bad.  
Anyway, onto the story! Review and tell me what you think please!**

* * *

High School.

They say it's the most four important years of your teen life. They also forgot to mention that to some, it can be the most miserable.

I was in the back of history class, taking notes on an upcoming test. This was an average daily routine, take notes, take notes, take notes. Gets old pretty quick after elementary school.

'_At least then I had my friends_.'

Back before high school, I had a bunch of friends I grew up with since Pre-K and Kindergarten. We were pretty close, too. Never disbanding, never getting into other people too much. We were just our own little cluster of kids. Except for Ino. She was a people-person. We didn't blame her. She got pretty annoyed with the guys a lot. But growing up into pre-teenhood, people moved, transferred to other schools by parents. 'Drifting Apart' is a lot sadder than it sounds. At least to me.

I made everyone who left promise to keep in touch. Each and every last one.

That wasn't a promise that was kept very well up to this day.

By the time it was 8th grade, I only hung out mainly with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, the first two friends I made. We were the original trio that started our little gang of troublemakers. And now we were all that was left. We stayed pretty close throughout 8th grade. But after graduating that year and entering high school, the promise of friendship was one I lost pretty quickly.

In class right now there was a blond Uzumaki, fast asleep on his desk. The teacher didn't mind. He just gave out the F's to those who 'deserved it.' Pretty unfair, this teacher. He plays favorites, too.

Then there's another desk in the room. It's empty, though. It belonged to Sasuke. I got used to this though. In the classes that I did have with Sasuke, he would normally be always missing form his seat. He had the habit of skipping classes all the time.

So yeah, you can guess the three of us aren't that close anymore.

Naruto became a school delinquent, doing very badly in all his classes and just striving to keep up in decent grades not to get kicked out. He was also always the one to start fights and start a commotion in school that gave him a very bad reputation as a troublemaker. Not all that different from elementary school, but he gets involved with different kinds of people now. It's sad.

Then there's Sasuke story. Not to long after the beginning of Freshman year, he became a lot of a loner. He also started skipping classes, but doing decently well to keep up a good average in his grades, if that was remotely possible. Nonetheless, he got pretty popular with the girls (though that didn't surprise me. Other girls always liked him.) Whether it be because of his 'bad boy' image or the fact they like him for his looks. Either way, we drifted apart too, my best friend.

It's times like this I wish we didn't have to grow up. Growing up just ruins everything for me. I'm probably the only one left who still thinks about the others. It's been a dream of mine to reunite all of us together again and juts hang out like we used to in the old days. But after a while I began to understand the way of how dreams are just meant for dreaming. I still miss them, though. Not the fact that we were all so far apart, but the fact that teenager-hood might've changed everybody, and for the worse. Was I the only one still left with the mind-set of a middle-schooler?

__

RING RING

The school bell rung, meaning the class was over. Lunch period now. I left the classroom as casually as everyone else, passing by a now awakening Naruto.

I'm a Sophomore now. Age fifteen in the middle of the school year. About three more months until vacation. Honestly I hated the summer even more than high school. You're just passing time under a hot sun. Whohoo.

"Sakura!" shouted my friend Ino. I talked about her before right?

Turning around after paying for my lunch I saw the blond walking over. "Ino hey." At least Ino was still a decently close friend, one of the old originals from elementary. Like I said before, she was a people-person. A very popular cheerleader captain she became in this school. I still find it miraculous that she still finds time to talk with me at lunch every day. Being the most sociable person I know, you think _she'd_ be the one to keep in touch with the old gang. I thought wrong.

"So, Sasuke skip classes again today?" Ino asked as we sat at our usual table. I shared my fries with her. She always free-loaded on my lunch. I didn't mind anymore. Naruto back then just used to take the whole tray. "I didn't see him lounging outside during P.E."

I arched my eyebrows, trying to act interested. "Really?" I asked, eating another French fry.

"Yeah! I mean he always goes to the same spot when he skips," she said, oh-so curious. "Is he absent today?"

"Nah. He was here for homeroom," I answered bored. He always went to homeroom. Although I did wonder. Where is he if he isn't lounging outside in the P.E area? He never hides out anywhere else, according to Ino at least.

"What a strange guy he turned into," Ino insulted with crossed arms and a pout. "I don't know what you ever saw in him before."

"I already said it before Ino, I never liked the guy, and I never will," I stated with the same bored expression on my face, spinning my fry in some ketchup.

"Uh-huh! You told me back in the second grade!" the blond teased with enjoyment.

"That was how many years ago now? Besides, even if I did have some childish crush on him I've outgrown it."

"Do you like anyone now?"

"No."

"Then you still like Sasuke," she pestered. Cheerleaders. It's people like Ino who want to know everything about everyone's social life. She's all I got though. Sad isn't it? Even the bored expression on my face and the bored tone of my voice wouldn't ward her away. "They say a girl never gets over a crush until they fall for someone else."

"That sounds kind of shallow to me."

"Well it's true isn't it?" Ino shrugged, standing up. "Anyway I'm gonna leave early. I have to set up a project in the presentation room for my next class."

"Oh so you're finally doing your school work this time," I called, teasing her.

"You're not the only bookworm in our class, Sakura," Ino grinned, leaving the cafeteria. "And tell me if you see Sasuke around. He's turned into a badass now but I still like to keep tabs on people."

"Yeah yeah go set up your thing," I waved off, Ino finally disappearing. "I swear it's like _she_'s the one with the crush on Sasuke." Just about _EVERY_girl in this school thinks they're in love with Sasuke. I probably would too if I didn't know him. I don't have a crush on the guy. I know that for sure.

'_Although_,' I began to wonder. '_Where exactly is he, anyway_?'

Meanwhile, a raven-haired teenager laid in the school nurse bed, sleeping. His closed eyes squinted every now and then, probably due to the nightmare ensuing in his mind. Although it seemed a lot more realistic and scary than any old nightmare, even for the Uchiha.

There were zombies, all over the school campus. Everyone had turned. Many students he recognized had become one of those, those things. Even the one guy he knew once the most.

"_N-Naruto?" he stammered in his dream, seeing a zombie-fied version of the knucklehead, limping towards him_.

Even a familiar pink-haired girl he once proclaimed very close to him, his once most important person as a child.

"_Sa...suke...," she moaned in pain on the ground, a huge abnormally-made gash in her neck and shoulder. Blood was spilling out at an alarming rate as her eyes went blak before him. At that very moment, the clock striked 1:00, its chime echoing down the hall and attracting many more of the zombie students who started coming his way_.

Finally the boy's eyes adjusted to the forming light over his eyes. Awakening, he realized he was in his nurse's office at school. His eyes winced at the reflecting white blindness of the room and he groaned, sitting up. At that instant he felt a painful throbbing on the side of his head and his hand flew up to it.

"Calm down, Sasuke. You had a pretty nasty fall back there," said the school nurse, walking up to the teen with an ice pack.

Sasuke gratefully took the cold ice and put it to the side of his head. "What happened?"

"Students said you collapsed suddenly in the hallway," she said with a cheerful smile. The nurse was always smiling, strangely enough. "One said that right before you were dazing off and then you just fell from nothing."

"Oh," he said simply, glancing down and recalling his dream. Was it really a dream? he wondered. Suddenly he recalled more of the dream. The nurse's office. This was how his nightmare had started, vaguely remembering. Glancing up at the clock Sasuke saw the time was 12:30. Taking suspicion into his dream, Sasuke dropped the ice pack onto the paper-covered bed and lept off. "I'll be going now."

"A-Are you sure?" the nurse stammered, seeing the teen walk past towards the door.

"I'm fine," he said coolly, shutting her door.

Once it clicked, Sasuke pondered about the nightmare again, or prediction he wondered. Nonetheless, he called this dream more of a prediction. Everything he saw was a repentance of the beginning of his dream. In fifteen minutes, he predicted, this entire school would be in the shambles of chaos. And the deaths of two students he knew would come about just around the corner, too...

"I've got to find those two."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was sitting in my next class in the computer lab, doing a research paper. Naruto on the computer right behind me had his earphones, but I heard the beeps and sounds of a computer game he was probably playing, going unnoticed by the teacher. I didn't mind it though. I was used to it.

Typing quickly into my keyboard, I suddenly felt a cold air in the room. Well, it's a computer room so it was aways cold. But I got one of those goosebump-cold feelings. I looked at my arms to see them forming. "Calm down Sakura, probably just getting hyped up over nothing." She read somewhere you could get goosebumps from scaring yourself, even if there was really nothing to be afraid of.

Although that didn't really matter, because the classroom door suddenly clicked open. All eyes adverted towards it to see who came in. And much to my surprise, it was Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha? Coming to class? Wait this wasn't even one of his classes.

"Mr. Uchiha," said the stern teacher. He had a slight sound of distaste in his voice, as would any teacher. "May I help you? Otherwise you're disrupting my class." What class? You're not even dong anything.

"I need to speak with two students," Sasuke replied with one hand in his pockets. His face looked calm enough. Wonder what's up.

"Sasuke you can't just pull students out of my class for-"

Sasuke ignored the man and just walked up to me, grabbing my arm suddenly and yanking me out of my spinning computer chair. "H-Hey! What's the big idea?" I panicked with alarm. I'd just gone to ignoring him after so long, so I was surprised by him suddenly appearing.

"Come on, we're leaving," he said suddenly.

Anyone would be confused, even by the 'great' Sasuke Uchiha. "Huh?"

"You too, dobe," he said to Naruto behind, still having a firm grip on my forearm.

The blond pulled his earphones out and sent a look at the Uchiha. Naruto hated that name 'dobe' for as long as I could remember. "Listen Sasuke, I don't know what your deal is but we don't need you bossin' us around like you own the place here-"

"Just come on," he recited again in a darker tone. Curiously I looked up at his dark eyes. I saw seriousness in them. I've seen that look before on Sasuke. Either when he was upset or mad, or when he was being totally serious. Naruto appeared to have noticed too.

"Sasuke what's going on?" I asked suspiciously as Naruto and I walked behind the Uchiha in the barren empty halls. Surprisingly we really did just leave the classroom without the teacher's permission. Naruto probably didn't care, but I was a normal student. I worried about punishments and consequences.

"The school's in danger," Sasuke stated, turning around to face us once we got to the middle of the hall. "Don't ask me how, but we need to get out of here."

This worried me. But I was also a tad suspicious. Who wouldn't? "What's gonna happen?"

"Don't listen to him, Sakura. He's probably just pulling some joke on us because he has nothing better to do," Naruto argued with crossed arms and a half-turned back.

"Why the hell would I make up something like this?" Sasuke asked obviously to him. "And besides, I never have the enthusiasm to pull a joke that'd require this much effort, pulling you two troublesome people out of a class."

"So first you get us into trouble then you insult us," I remarked to him. "Very nice."

Sasuke groaned from frustration. He couldn't _really_ be telling the truth could he? "Come on. Just trust me would you?"

Finally I narrowed my eyes at him. "Okay, let's say this whole 'school in danger' thing was true. Why us?" I asked straightforward. I was quite surprised with myself actually, talking so boldly in front of these two. "As far as I know you don't care about us anymore. Why try and save us?"

Sasuke felt the urge to answer, but at the same time felt like he would be sacrificing his pride if he did. But at the thought of his pink-haired companion's question, his mind went instantly to his dream, seeing a dead Naruto and Sakura. Shaking these thoughts from his head, he returned his stern expression. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Then we don't have to go with you," Naruto said back with a smirk as I turned around to walk past them. Originally I planned on heading back to the classroom, but at my third step I heard an unusual sound in the distance, like the sound of a glass breaking or something. It as so quiet that probably only I heard it. Naruto and Sasuke were still arguing behind. They probably hadn't noticed.

However when I lifted the heel of my foot I heard a second crash, but louder this time. Naruto's and Sasuke's fighting ceased as well. Now I was certain that we _all_ had heard it.

"W-What was that...?" I said out loud in a falter.

Behind me, Sasuke pushed Naruto out of the way and to the windows that lined the entire left side of the hallway. Outside the class, down below on the lower levels of the school on the eastern side, a couple of estranged-looking adults had broken into a classroom through a window, them trying to climb in. The students' screams from that one unfortunate classroom echoed through the air. Naruto and I eventually came to see what Sasuke had found.

"What are those things..?" Naruto hesitated, starring out the window in disbelief.

I narrowed my eyes. "And their skin..." It was so pale. No, forget pale. It wasn't even a normal skin-color. Purple almost, like a zombie's rotting flesh that you'd see in movies. Their muscles and veins and bones could be seen through their hands. I could only imagine their face. My fingers clutched into my hands, slight fear penetrating my already racing heart. It was then I finally understood Sasuke's earlier warning. "Sasuke," I began, my voice in a barely audible whisper. "How did you know that this was..."

He paused for a moment. "The school nurse said I fainted earlier..." he started. "But the story's too long to get into right now."

"Well, this goes to show you're right about us being in trouble," said Naruto. "What do we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I spoke finally, receiving both boys attention. "It's like Sasuke said before, we need to get out of here."

"What about the rest of the students?" Naruto asked lost.

"Why do you think Sasuke got _us_ out of class first?" I asserted, an almost angry look on my face. And the sad part was, that I didn't even know _what_ I was angry at. "The entire school will become a war-front soon enough. Best we escape with our lives before it all becomes worse."

"H-How do you know that?" Naruto stammered. I wondered of denial. "If we know about this situation early enough because of Sasuke then why can't we just call the police before it gets out of hand-?"

"The police won't come," Sasuke interrupted without much emotion. "Those things, those un-dead, when they bite you it's all over." Naruto and I starred at Sasuke, wondering just how he knew that. It could've been a suspicion from zombie movies, but I highly doubted that Sasuke was one to be very interested in any kind of zombie movie. Let alone to see one _right_before this situation. I felt myself gulp from the nervousness of it all. "Like you said, Sakura. This entire school will become infected very soon. The students will learn they're in danger, the panic will follow through, and soon enough there'll be too much chaos for a good amount of students to make it out of the building alive."

'_Alive_...?'

He seemed so accurate about this, as if he actually _knew_ what was going to happen. I made it all according to his 'long story' he refused to get into right now. "So what do you suggest we do," I said to him.

Sasuke heard further crashes from that first-floor classroom. "We need to find a safe place before-" The speakers from the school intercom emitted an electric crackle, something that happened every time an announcement went on. I felt all of our eyes widen. 'Damn," he uttered under his breath.

"Students, I advise everyone to remain in your classrooms until further notice," said the voice, a very shaky voice at that. It felt rushed, too. Probably a teacher who had been alerted of the incident in that raided classroom.

"This is bad," Sasuke stated. "All the students are going to know soon."

"Then let's get the hell out of here already!" Naruto urged in a hushed whisper.

"Not yet," I said, making them both look at me. I held a nervous yet serious face. "We'll need weapons. If it's chaos and panic we're in for, and in a high school nonetheless, it won't be easy to get through the front doors."

"All teachers are ordered to let no student out and to lock all doors of the classrooms that you are-" The announcement was interrupted by another crash from the school office. Naruto, Sasuke, and I ran down the halls as the silenced halls echoed our footsteps. We had to be quick. Not even minutes were permitted to our ahead-advantage.

The intercom 'announcement' resumed. "NO! GET AWAY! NOOO-!" A painful and piercing scream came out of the speakers in the hall. This only made me run faster behind Sasuke and pick up my pace. Was this... actually happening?

And at that, the ground beneath began to shake, and multiplied screams ran throughout the school building. I could picture it now, every student for their life rushing out of their classroom with fear-stricken eyes. It'd be just like a fire-drill, but worse and less orderly. At this point, I was very much glad that I was with Naruto and Sasuke of all people. But at the same time, my mind wandered to Ino. I prayed to God that she was okay.

"Here," Sasuke said, us raiding the gym closet in an empty classroom. The school gym was right here on the second floor next door. They kept al the gym equipment in here. Naruto picked his choice of a firm hockey-stick. I went to get a bright metal-baseball bat, picking it up with ease.

Nauto drew a somewhat panicked expression. "A-Are you sure that's a good weapon for you Sakura? I mean it might be kinda heavy to lug around-"

"You have a point in here somewhere?" I interupted with a death glare, only scaring Naruto even more.

"No no not at all!" he quickly defended with waving hands. "It's just..."

I slowly swung the bright heavy bat in the air. "The bat's perfectly fine with me to use. I won't have any trouble with it."

"She has a point," Sasuke said, walking past the blond teen. He went towards the two-doored closet. "Sakura's pretty decent when it comes to muscle. Or have you forgotten how much she used to kick your butt back in elementary school?"

"S-Shut up, you!" Naruto retorted at the calm Uchiha. Meanwhile I starred at him, slightly taken back that he actually said that. Sasuke, actually remembered something from the old days? I couldn't help the faint drawing smile coming onto my lips. Maybe it was good fate brought us three together. Or maybe that was the reason Sasuke picked Naruto and me out of all people in the school to 'save'.

Meanwhile, Sasuke reached into the back of the storage closet, pushing away the other sports equipment thrown in there by the school. He found a secret compartment in the back and pushed it to the side, revealing a long bamboo kendo stick. It had a strap holder, too, and Sasuke pulled out the Japanese weapon from the closet. I starred at it in shock while Naruto had his own queering reaction.

"WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?" Naruto shouted with a booming voice, pointing at the weapon.

"I practice in private after school with this thing," Sasuke explained, fitting the strap over his shoulder and across his waist to his hip. He pulled out the sword-like weapon, careful to aim it quickly at the wall with his hold, right between Naruto and I. "I can't practice at home, and it'd be a bother if a teacher saw me carrying this to school everyday. So after a while I just stashed it in here so no one could find it. Nonetheless, I have a better chance fighting with this."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better," Naruto muttered.

"Either way," I said, swinging the bat over my shoulder with my right arm. "What's the plan? We can't just walk out anymore with all of the kids in a frenzy."

"Even worse, they're going to be more of those zombies," Sasuke added. "In that first classroom we saw, I'm sure more than one student got bitten."

"So?" Naruto said.

Sasuke turned to the blond with a death stare. "So those bitten students have become one of _them_." Our eyes widened. I was expecting bad but that for the possibility of getting bitten, and turning into a, a, mindless zombie? "No doubt the infection will spread to even more students. And with everyone all mixed in together a lot more students will get bitten. _We_ just have to make sure we don't."

"We could always try jumping out the window," Naruto suggested to him. "If it's as bad as you make it out to be out there, then maybe we should just take that short-cut."

"I _really _advise you rethink that idea," I said with furrowed eyebrows, starring out the class window. Naruto and Sasuke rushed over. Outside in the couryard near the front gates, many students zombified were going after running students, some caught and getting bitten and ripped of their flesh. I felt the urge to turn away and just get sick, but for some reason I couldn't. My fear was much greater than my stomach's instinct.

"What the hell...?" Naruto said with disbelief.

"There's no way we can get out of this place now," Sasuke grimaced, gripping his bamboo sword.

"Ahhh!" shouted a voice outside. Somehow I recognized that scream. Dashing towards the door I looked out the small window in search of the sound. Out in the hall I found more of those zombified students gathering around something.

'_So quickly...?_' It's only been how many minutes now? Ten? And already there were so many lost students. But what surprised me more was what was attracting the zombies out in the hall. I saw two non-pale students against a wall, one of whom I recognized as Ino. "Ino?"

"Gaaah!" shouted the other girl, grabbed and overtaken by the other zombie-students. Ino watched as her friend was eaten alive, blood splattering over the wall and some onto Ino's uniform. I realized it wouldn't be long until the zombie's meal on the poor girl would move onto Ino, and upon unsought instinct I moved the door to the side and ran out with my bat.

"Sakura wait!" Sasuke called out in a panic.

"Get away from Ino!" I shouted in rage, running with my bat ready to swing. The zombies who were about to bite Ino looked to the source of the yell, but before they even realized, I had come and swung my bat, slamming three of them across the hall and away from Ino. I stood in front of her against one last zombie of a male school student. This was the first time I saw one. One of his eyes was rolled back and one was completely white. His skin was as pale as that rotting purple and his teeth had yellowed and grown out-wards somehow. Their groans and movements were slow, but the bites looked deadly, as Sasuke told me.

"Ahhh!" Ino screamed behind me.

"GET AWAY!" I yelled out, raising my bat and slamming it onto the zombie's head. It smashed in a way I never thought was possible and the already lifeless body fell down, officially dead and gone. I took in breaths of energy as I lowered my bat down, the edge of it stained with some blood. The zombie didn't really bleed as much as I thought he would, actually. I turned to Ino, seeing her surprise/fear stricken-face. But she seemed to have calmed upon looking up at me. "Are you okay?" I asked her seriously.

Ino replied with a nod as I helped her up.

"Sakura!" yelled Naruto's and Sasuke's voices.

We turned around, seeing the guys stopping beside us. Naruto looked over at the damage done to the head-deprived zombie. His stomach jumped as I saw his face scrunch up, despite how much he tried to look unaffected.

"You idiot," Sasuke said otherwise, glaring at me. "You don't just run out of nowhere without any back up! You could've been killed!"

"You expect me to just let those things take Ino alive!" I argued back with temper, glaring at him with the same face. "Maybe _I_want to save people too, you selfish jerk!" Silence followed my statement. Sasuke and I retained our glaring contest as Naruto's attention adverted to the three zombies I had knocked out earlier across the hall. He saw them rise back up inhumanely, starting to walk again in a distance. "Guys, look," he breathed.

I turned around seeing the zombies coming towards us, unaffected from before. Forgetting my fears I held by bat ready in a stance, as did Sasuke who pulled out his sword. "Why are they getting back up?"

"They're the un-dead. What do you expect?" Sasuke remarked.

"It's not that," I disclosed. "That zombie there, the one whose head I smashed." Naruto glanced down t it again hesitantly. "He's not getting up. Why those three?"

Naruto's eyes adverted back to our three enemies. A smirk grew onto his mischievous grin. "Maybe that's how we kill them," he said in a low whisper, raising his hockey stick. "To get rid of 'em for good we smash their heads!"

At that Naruto and Sasuke ran ahead of me towards the zombies. With astounding teamwork and fighting-style, the two un-likely heroes smashed the heads of the zombified students, killing them for good. I almost considered going after them, but I remembered the defenceless Ino and stayed behind reluctantly.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Ino finally questioned. Her voice sounded demanding, just like mine before.

"I wish I knew," I answered truthfully. Sasuke was right after all. The school had become a battlefield, a war to live. Kill or be killed.


	2. Seven Together

"Take this!" Naruto yelled out, swinging his hockey stick at the third zombie, slamming him into the wall. At that, Sasuke swung his bamboo sword and smashed the head of the student, killing him.

I sighed out in relief, putting my guard down for a little bit. "Finally." Honestly the entire time they fought I was afraid one of them would get bit.

At the same time I heard another moan from behind me. With a swift turn I saw the other victimized girl from before, the one that was bitten in front of Ino. The blond and I backed away slowly, me holding my bat ready as the once-dead girl rose to her feet, her head and arms drawling towards the ground. "Sakura..." Ino warned, hiding behind me in protection.

"She was bitten," I realized with a stern face. "Everyone bitten will come back up unless their head's gone." I tightened my grip on the bat's handle. "In that case," I ran towards the girl as her mouth opened wide, ready to bite me. Before I could smash her head with my bat, she caught it with her un-dead hand, taking me by surprise. '_What..._?'

Gripping the end of the bat she threw it across the hall behind her, advancing towards me slowly. Well, there goes my hope. "Oh man..." I uttered in panic as she grabbed hold of my shoulders with an intense grip, holding me against the wall with a slam into my back. Using my arms and leg to keep her away, she was surprisingly strong, trying to get closer to biting any part of me. Head, neck, arm, wrist, anything with living flesh. "So strong," I winced, feeling death approaching me.

Before my arms gave out, I saw the girl get kicked to the side by Sasuke with a jump. With a swing of his sword he decapitated the girl from the neck with a swift hit. With deep breaths I tried to keep myself from sliding down to the ground. I really almost died just now, didn't I.

With a safe breath, Sasuke looked to me. "You alright, Haruno?"

I looked up at him, contemplating whether to give him attitude or thank him. But nonetheless I nodded in reply and Sasuke went to pick up my bat for me. Ino came to me and picked up my arm, helping me stand up straight again. "You okay, Sakura?" she asked with concern.

"I'm just fine," I actually answered, feeling the racing beat of my heart still. Searching for Naruto I found him standing by the door to the school staircase, holding his hockey stick in defence. "We better get out of here. Those things are coming up the stairs. They're pretty slow, but I still don't feel like sticking around any time soon."

"We could barricade the door," I said, holding my shoulder. It must've been wounded from that dead girl's grip, like she cracked a bone or something. Ino noticed from my hesitation to life up my left arm.

"There's no time," Sasuke said, walking up to us. "We need to find somewhere to hide first."

"Like where? This entire school is swarmed with them," Naruto argued, getting away from the door after closing it. But I doubted that'd do much.

"I know one place, though," Ino spoke up, getting our attention. "The girl's locker room."

"The, girl's locker room?" Naruto asked with an appearing smile. That idiot.

"You dolt," Ino scolded, hitting him for me. "Ever since last year's incident with the seniors' guys, the school created stern metal doors for the girls locker room. It's not much, but it'll take a while for those zombies to break through it if we barricade that from the inside. And besides, I keep some bandages in there for cheer leading. Sakura could use some," she said, motioning to my shoulder. I felt the guys' stare, and I looked down. "Well?"

Sasuke sighed, still holding my bat for me. "As against it as I'd normally be, I don't think we have too much of a choice at this point."

"It should just be here on the second floor, so it won't be that far," Naruto said with a finger to his chin.

"And how are you supposed to know that?" I said with a suspicious glare to the blond.

"Who cares! Let's just go before we run into any more zombies," Ino asserted, taking my bat from Sasuke's possession, as if he just stole it from somewhere. "_I'll_ be taking this."

"You're not strong enough to fight with a bat," Naruto scoffed at the girl.

"I'm not fighting with it," she argued, pointing the bat at Naruto. It really was heavier than she expected, but she didn't show weakness on her face. She looked back at Sasuke with a pointing arm. "You, carry Sakura."

? . ? . ?

"Eh?" he and I said with the same expression.

"Why should I?" Sasuke said with a frown.

"Because, she's injured and won't be able to run very well with her shoulder," Ino bossed, stating the obvious. "Naruto can take care of the front in case we run into any of them on our way."

"Why me?" Naruto said with anime tears running down his face.

Ino held my bat over her shoulder. "Meanwhile I'll carry this for Sakura." She looked towards me. "Seriously, I don't know how you can carry this thing, let alone _fight_ with it in that long skirt of yours."

I myself was about to protest, but I felt Sasuke's arms pick me up. He lifted me and held me close as to not drop me. "Let's just hurry. I really don't want to be around when those things reach the second floor." Without question, Naruto and Ino ran down the hall, Sasuke right behind them.

I stayed quiet, trying to keep listening for any more of those zombies. At least Ino was okay. I was glad we managed to run into her when we did. I might've injured my shoulder for it, but it seemed worth the life. We reached the girls locker room at the end of the hall, luckily without any run-ins with those things. Everyone else was probably busy trying to get down to the first floor. Ino tugged on the metal handles of the door. "It's locked," she glared, letting go of it.

"Not for long," Naruto said, picking up a key from a keychain around his hip hanging above his school pants. One of the keychains happened to be a real key, and he held it up to the door.

"Why on earth do you have that?" I pouted at him.

"Do you really want to ask that?" Sasuke said with the same face as me. Either way, Naruto managed to unlock the door _thus_providing us shelter for now. So Ino and I decided not to scold him for this. If there ever came an hour of safety, _then_ I'd scold him.

Ino turned on the lights in the cramped room, filled with walls of lockers. Naruto ran in first with his weapon, looking down the room with a careful look. "All clear!"

Heading in Sasuke set me down on one of the benches, Naruto head to close the door. Ino left my bat against one of the lockers and went to open one of her locks. "Sakura, do you have a change of clothes in here?"

I shook my head, my hand still on my shoulder. "You know I don't use the locker room." I held my head down, kind of embarrassed. "I keep my gym stuff in my locker downstairs and usually change in the bathroom."

Ino sighed in frustration. "I guess it can't be helped then." She turned towards Naruto and Sasuke with a stern glare no one would dare mess with. "You two guard the doors. Sakura and I will be in the back showering." She was suddenly up close to Naruto. "And you _better_ not peak."

"G-Got it," he stammered with raised hands. Although he really enjoyed the thought of seeing the image. _Perve_.

"I'll watch him. You and Sakura go wash up," Sasuke told, leaning against the wall.

"Thank you, Sasuke," Ino smiled before taking me up and walking to the back. I've never used the school showers, and now seemed like a really weird time to start. Ino and I were both stripped of our school uniforms left on an outside bench as the showers started. The heart and steam began to spread, covering my sight slightly. I washed some of the dried blood of my arms and hair with my good arm.

"Ahh, it's so nice to be clean again," Ino said with a relaxing tone as she washed her long blond hair. "How about you, Sakura?"

Even though we weren't facing each other, I put up a convincing trying smile. "Yeah. It's nice."

Ino half-smiled. Our voices were shielded by the sound of the running showers, so we were able to talk. "I expect yours and the guys' plan was to leave the school for safety, right?" It seemed like an obvious plan when she said it. "Have you thought about what _you're_ gonna do?"

I turned my head slightly. It ached my shoulder a bit, but I felt if I moved around it'd get back to normal eventually. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, scratching off some dried blood from her fingernails. "If the school's this bad, then how do you think it is out there?" My head jumped slightly. "No police came to the school yet. In fact, I'd say it'd be like we were free students, able to do whatever we wanted, or whatever we can, actually."

It gave me something to think about. "What are you implying, Ino?"

"Remember back in freshman year, how you always wanted to look for all the others who moved away so we can all have a reunion one day?" Ino asked. That dream, it reminded me of a lot. But it seemed really impossible at that time. Even now. Especially with this epidemic at hand. It was then I hoped that they were alright, too. The thought of any of our old friends turning into one of those _things_, I just wouldn't believe it.

"I had no reason to look for them then," I answered through the mist. "It's high school. I bet everyone had changed by then. Gotten their own lives and moved on."

"Well, now you have a reason," Ino grinned. "Normally people still alive in this situation would be looking for their loved ones. Family for example. In this case, you can use this situation as a way and motivation for looking for all the others like you wanted." I heard her chuckle behind me. "Gosh, just the thought of it taking a whole zombie invasion to bring the old gang together. It sounds absurd, doesn't it?"

I hated to admit it but she had a point. "I guess."

Silence followed as Ino stopped scrubbing her hair. "You know, in our little group as kids, I never did like half the kids in our group. We were the only girls, and those guys were always so annoying. But," she smiled. "But, do you know what my dream is?"

"What is it?"

"It's almost the same as yours, really," she said truthfully. "My dream is to have all seven of us together again so we can have another picnic in the park."

"Picnic?" I asked with a look. "That's it?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?" she asked, mocking me. I always said that to her and she's always tell me to bug off already. "Back in the day, we'd always hang out in the playground and eat lunch over the summer together. Then we'd all start singing some song we all liked." She chuckled. "Shikamaru always said I had a lame voice or something like that. The sad part is I kind of agree with him now. But, looking back, I get what you mean now when you say you miss everyone." She lifted her head. "But that's a dream for another day."

As I listened to her, I realized she finally saw my old point of view. But now, I had a new one. Besides, I learned long ago dreams never come true. "But right now, our first priority is to survive and get out of here. At this point, finding adult-authority help doesn't sound like the most assuring thing to me."

After our shower, Ino and I went outside to the bench where out clothes were. Putting on our underwear and skirts separately, Ino told me to leave my school shirt off first so she could bandage my shoulder. I felt against it and said that I should do it myself, but she told me that it was better if someone else did it for me. She said she rather she did it instead of Naruto or Sasuke. I was _definitely_ against that idea.

"Okay, here's the bandages," Ino said, coming up to me, waiting on the bench.

Upon seeing me without my shirt, in the dim lights of the girls locker room she saw a noticeable feature on my back. I wasn't facing her, but I could tell she was looking at it. She walked up to me. I noticed her hesitating to touch my back. "It's okay. It's just a scar. The bandages won't hurt it."

Ino looked at me just as I turned away. Behind me was a long scar-like cut, the only blemish on my fair-skinned back. "Sakura, where did you get this?" she asked warily. "Was it from fighting the zombies?"

With a shake of my head, I replied with a no. I had the option of lying and saying that it was from one of the zombies, but I couldn't lie to Ino. "My mom's an alcoholic. One night back in the eigth grade, she went a bit berserk and, I got hurt." I explained it as if were nothing. Was that bad? To assure her I was okay for real, I turned around with a bright smile. "It's okay. It was a while ago, so don't worry about it."

With a still-unsatisfied frown, she began to bandage my shoulder. It was already feeling slightly better, so I saw no reason to bandage it. But if it made Ino and the others feel better, then I supposed it was okay.

Afterwards, the two of us walked back to the guys, fully clothed in our school uniforms. My hair was still dripping a little with water, but only because I refused to use Ino's hair-drier. I didn't like using them for whatever reason I had. Meanwhile I noticed the guys had kept the door barricaded with some tables and boxes. A few banging and groaning sounds could be heard on the other side, but it didn't look like they would be breaking in any time soon.

"Took you guys long enough," Naruto remarked, facing us with his hockey stick.

"Hey, we didn't question you about you having a key to this place to don't start scolding us," Ino said with her hands on her hips.

"Are you guys gonna shower? It'll probably be a while before we find another place with working water," I advised.

"It's okay. We didn't get a lot of blood on us back there," Sasuke assured, looking kind of relaxed. "Aside from that, is your shoulder okay?"

"It's fine. Ino took care of it" I said with a small smile. I had told Ino earlier to keep quiet about my scar to the guys. 'It was not something they needed to know' I told her. "Anyway, what's the plan now? Obviously we can't stay in here forever."

"We talked about that before while you two were in the back," Naruto spoke up, quite proudly actually. "Sasuke recommended we go to the school's old library."

"Isn't that on the other side of the school?" Ino asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but it's almost the next best place to hide out in," Sasuke explained.

"How?" I pouted. A giant room with dusty books having been left untouched for how many years?

"For one it's on the first floor, so it's even closer to getting out of this place," Sasuke notified. "Naruto and I tried to call for help, but our phones don't work here in the locker room. Maybe not even on this floor."

"Plus he also said that the old library has a secret emergency exit that leads to the sewer," Naruto grinned. _Why_ he was smiling about that I'd never know.

"The _sewer_," Ino repeated, sounding disgusted at the idea of going underground.

"Well we can't use the front door anymore," Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. He had a point. "I don't even know if that old room _has_ that underground exit. It was only a rumor I heard, but it's worth checking out. And the door to the place should be stern enough to be able to keep all those zombies out without us having to barricade it."

"And how do you propose we get to the old library?" I asked skeptically.

"Like I said, Sakura. The two of us planned the entire thing out," Naruto stated. "Having me around, we can get anywhere around the school through the air-ducts."

"That might be even worse than the sewers," Ino frowned.

"Just let me talk would ya?" Naruto snapped at the rivaling blond. "Before I was _rudely_ interrupted, like I was saying before, we can go through the air ducts."

"Apparently the dobe knows his way around the school up there," Sasuke admitted, still leaning against the wall in his same casual manner. "Unfortunately there's no route in the air ducts that leads directly into the old library. The closest one to it will get us into a hallway nearby."

"The bad news is that since the hall is on the first floor, it's most likely swarming with more students who've been bitten," Naruto stated seriously. "We'll have to fight our way there."

"Is that the only way?" Ino asked. "Sakura is-"

"I can fight, Ino," I assured, taking the bat that's been left by her locker. "My shoulder's feeling much better, so I should be just fine out there."

"You sure?" Ino asked unconvinced. Even Naruto showed a hint of concern for me. I felt kind of sad Sasuke didn't have any reaction, but now wasn't a time to worry about emotions.

"Let's just go. The faster we get out of school, the faster we can get some help from the outside." Although, like I said, I highly doubt we can find any real help in this reality I call a nightmare. And how this guy knows his way up there is beyond me, but I'm not one to argue at this point

Using a ladder we found, Naruto climbed up and began to open a way into the large air ducts above us. "Alright, I unscrewed it." With our help we helped him set down the metal door. "I'll go in first since I know my way. Sakura you go next."

"Why me?"

"Because, your shoulder's injured so in case any zombies decide to follow we can protect ya," Naruto grinned as if it were supposed to be a _good_ plan. We're in vents. What could he possibly do?

I kept my frown. "I hope you're not planning on farting up there."

"We're _all_ not hoping for that," Sasuke agreed.

Naruto ignored our comments. "Sasuke you go in after Sakura."

"Hey what about me?" Ino retorted. "Why am I the last one? If a zombie did come up I'd be the first to go!"

"Not my fault," Naruto shrugged.

"IT'D TOTALLY BE YOUR FAULT!" Ino shouted at the guy.

"Hey I'm only being logical," Naruto stated calmly. "I'm first because I know the direction. Sakura's second since she can't do much maneuvering, so that'll mean she'll get left behind the farther back she is in the vents. Sasuke's third since he'd probably be able to provide protection in case something came up, even if he's wasn't all the way in the back."

"So why the heck am I last!"

"You're wearing a skirt," Naruto said bluntly from up on the ladder.

Wow, he had a point.

Ino blushed as her hands quickly went to her uniform skirt. "Well Sakura has a skirt too! And Sasuke's right behind her!"

"Well Sakura's skirt isn't so damn skimpy like yours!"

"What'd you say, Uzumaki?"

The shouting went back and forth between the two blonds, and all I could do was watch with Sasuke.

"Three days, I gives us three days we can stay alive with these two," Sasuke said flatly with his arms crossed. I simply nodded.

Anyway we followed Naruto from behind, creeping quietly through the air ducts. I ignored the pressure I was adding to my shoulder by crawling , and I kept my bat under my arm as I dragged my defence weapon. Same with Naruto's hockey stick and Sasuke's bamboo sword. Then again he had a holster for it...

"Over here," Naruto said finally as we can to a huge space. Finally somewhere I didn't have to have my face up to Naruto's butt. We gathered around the air duct opening and looked down it through the metal strips. Below us we saw in a short distance a fair amount of mindless wandering dead students. Guess they were right about there being a lot of this floor.

"Okay, we're here. So what's the plan?" I whispered.

"The doors should be just down the end of the hall," Naruto told, trying to get a better look through the small entrance. "It's a pretty far run, but if we take 'em down quickly enough we should be able to get there in one piece."

"Who's to say those doors are open though?" Ino cautioned in a lower whisper. "No one uses it for a reason. What if the doors are locked?"

"Then we're screwed," Sasuke said simply.

"You mean you don't even know if the room's open?" I asked, almost yelling. But I did my best to keep it down to a harsh whisper.

"Well if we said that back in the locker room you two would've never gone," Naruto frowned, actually having been ahead of us for once. "And don't even _think_of going back to the locker room. By now the baracade around the door must've been taken down by those things."

I glared at the two boys. They set us up. They could've at least set Ino up and told me. "Alright, we'll go."

"W-What?" Naruto asked.

"You made up the plan, and we're agreeing to it," I augured with him.

"A-Actually, we figured you would both be too scared and you'd just stay up here while we fought the zombies down there until the coast was clear for you guys," Naruto sweatdropped, scratching his cheek.

"Idiot," I uttered, punching his shoulder.

Naruto groaned quietly, holding his shoulder with a face. "Yeah, punch me and not Sasuke."

While I ignored his remark, Sasuke spoke. "The dobe has a point though. It's too dangerous, so you two stay up here while we take care of things down there."

"We're going," Ino interrupted.

I nodded. "Yeah. There's way to many down there. We have to go as a group. And besides, Naruto's reverse psychology is horrible."

"Hey I put a lot of thought into that plan," Naruto whined.

"Yeah don't do that. Thinking really isn't your thing," I advised before turning back to Sasuke. "And we're going. Sasuke, you take the front and Naruto and I will take the rear. Ino, it's too risky for you to fight without a weapon so you just run and protect the center."

"Since when did you start taking orders," Sasuke said.

"Since you stopped including me in your plans," I smirked at him. Honestly, all my fears had gone away somewhere and I just had the urge for some excitement to take out my anger. After Naruto opened the vent, I jumped down and did a mid-air double kick to the zombies below for a clear exit. Naruto and Sasuke followed as well as Ino, and we took out the zombies close by. It attracted a lot of attention so Sasuke took the front and began running, taking down any of the student zombies in his way.

Naruto and I took the rear of the formation while Ino ran ahead. It was pretty easy but considering how much longer we had to run, I didn't know just how much we could keep up this streak. Eventually, just like I predicted, we came to a stop in an intersection of the hallway. Many more zombies were gathered here, and we put up our guard. Ino remained between the three of us for protection.

"This might be a bit much," Sasuke grimaced, holding up his sword.

"Should we just try and run past them?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's too risky. One of us could get bit, for sure," I opposed.

"So we just fight?" Naruto suggested.

"Duh," Sasuke said with a glint in his eye. "Sakura take the sides with me. Naruto protect Ino." He said it so quick that right after, Sasuke and I took off. We began attacking the ward of the zombies. Sasuke was doing pretty well with his kendo weapon. I on the other hand, although using only a bat, was doing pretty well. And my shoulder felt better than ever. I smashed heads one by one while using kicks to throw off others if too many came at once. I glanced every now and then at Naruto to make sure he and Ino were doing okay. I'd smile if I could.

Despite all the fighting, there were too many students coming at once. I began to wonder, if we were the only ones left in the building who were actually still alive - still human.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted. While I was in my thoughts I lowered my guard in my attacks. A zombie had enough intelligence to sneak up beside me, almost biting at my forearm. Sasuke had come just in time right before, swinging his weapon at him and smashing his head down to the floor. Now cornered near a wall, Sasuke held up his kendo stick in our defence, all of them coming at us now. Sasuke couldn't attack otherwise we'd risk getting bit.

'_So... this is how it ends..._'

"NO!" Naruto's voice shouted, zombies getting thrown here and there from the back of the crowd. I didn't know how he was doing it, but Naruto seemed to be at his best at this point. I could've sworn that the instant I saw him, his eye had an almost evil glint to them. Either way, his burst of energy attracted most of the zombies, but he was doing pretty good on his own.

Sasuke took this opportunity and took down the zombies in front of us. "You know, the dobe's doing pretty good for just a hockey stick."

"Yeah..." I said, still holding my bat and smashing one of the zombies who came up at the side. However one of the zombies, probably a senior, came to attack our front. Sasuke went to smash his head, but this one managed to grab onto the end of Sasuke's weapon, just like with what happen to me before. Raising Sasuke's weapon, he was lifted off the ground in a panic. "Sasuke!" I screamed, hugging his waist and trying to pull him down before any zombies could bite into his shirt. Sasuke eventually let go of his weapon and he fell, me holding him from behind to keep him from collapsing.

However the both of us were without a weapon now. The one holding Sasuke's sword fell back, but another zombie came at us with quick speed. I hugged Sasuke with my arms around the back of his neck as we shut our eyes to await the worst. But then I heard blood splatter. I _felt_ it. I didn't feel any pain, so I opened my eyes, expecting to see Sasuke half dead. However what I saw was just as worse.

"AAGH!" Ino yelled out, the zombie biting deep into the crow of her neck. I watched her blood rain down in an inhumane amount. Death starred into my hollow green eyes as my grip around Sasuke fell numb.

"Ino..." I said dead. Sasuke and Naruto starred in disblief as well. As if the world fell into slow motion, my only true high school friend began to drift down towards the floor, blood still falling from her open neck. Other zombies began to come towards her, but at that instant my teeth gritted against each other, and I felt myself stand up.

I grabbed my bat, my pink bangs covering the sides of my eyes. "You..." I said deadly.

"Sakura," Sasuke said warningly, still sitting against the wall.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" I screamed out, charging at the hoard of zombies about to gather around Ino. In a frenzy I took out the remaining ones in the hallway intersection with no mercy. They weren't human. They were monsters. And now, I was about to loose one of my friends to them.

"Ino!" Naruto yelled, running over to us.

Sasuke had come to Ino, seeing her weak fatigue as he tried to sit her against the wall. "Watch Ino. I'll get Sakura, okay?"

"AHHH!" I yelled out, swinging my bat my hardest against the tallest of them, the same one that almost killed Sasuke and me. There weren't many left around that we really had to necessarily deal with, but I just kept on going. It was as if I had just lost control of myself totally. I couldn't stop. Not after, not after...

"Sakura!" Sasuke's voice called, running in front of me. Instantly I stopped running and he pushed down my bat to my side, taking grip of my shoulders right after. "Stop it, just, stop it," he said firmly, shaking me slightly. I looked up at his face, and much to my surprise, I saw a hint of sadness. Disappointment? I couldn't tell, but it was a familiar emotion I never thought I would've seen on Sasuke. An emotion I, haven't seen in so long.

But shortly after, Sasuke pulled me in, hugging me the same way I had hugged him before in the fear of dying. His was gentle, though. The hold comforted me, bringing me back somehow. "What did I do..." I mumbled into his school shirt.

"Guys," Naruto's voice spoke. I could hear Ino's faint breathing. "We better hurry to the library while none are around too close. Ino needs help."

Breaking the hug, Sasuke and I hurried over to where we were needed. I helped get Ino into Naruto's arms to carry while Sasuke quickly fetched his kendo stick. We ran down the last of the empty hall towards two giant library doors. I pushed them open, using all of my strength to do so, though I think Sasuke helped. The door creaked open and we hurriedly rushed inside. The library was lit dimly by the tall glass windows near the high walls of the place. Shutting the door just as fast with with just as much effort, we locked it. Hopefully that would be enough to hold them out.

"Thank heavens its over," I breathed out.

"Now for her," Sasuke reminded as we faced Naruto. He set Ino down on the ground. Her breathing was hoarse as I saw her skin pale.

"Ino," I gasped, rushing to her side. I took her cold hand, feeling her cough a bit. Blood seeped through her open mouth, as she struggled to open her eyes.

With a hazed-looking vision, she turned her head towards me on her left. Blood dropped from her lips as she urged a smile. "Sakura..."

"Yes, Ino?" I asked, holding her hand with both of mine. I knew that she was going to die. No matter how much I hoped and prayed that she'd live, she wouldn't.

"There's something I want you to do for me..." she said, her voice hard to hear with all the blood. "I want you... to kill me..." At that moment my world froze. My fake smile was still plastered on my face, but it slowly faded away as tears built up in my eyes. She... she wasn't really asking that of me was she...? "Please... do it." Sasuke's eyes closed as Naruto looked away.

"B-But..." My eyes teared up even more. My vision became a blur as I tried not to let them fall. I refused to blink.

"But nothing, Sakura..." she said quietly with the same smile plastered on her dying face. "Smash my head with your bat... or else..." She coughed out more blood. "Or else... I might hurt you guys..."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. "INO NO-!" Naruto gabbed my shoulders forcing me back as Ino began another coughing fit, blood splattering out of her mouth. Naruto kept me away as I tried to break out of his grip. I watched in horror Sasuke walk up to the blond girl. "No! Ino no! Don't die! DON'T DIE!"

Sasuke raised his bamboo sword, looking down at his old friend. Emotion was void of his eyes, but he hurt just as much as Naruto did. Their pair couldn't compare to mine. "No..." Ino frowned, looking up at the Uchiha. "I want Sakura... to kill me..."

Sasuke glared down at the foolish girl. "Why? Why do you want to put Sakura through all that-"

"If you kill me..." she said hoarsely, her eyes becoming foggier and foggier. "She... will come to resent you," she breathed out, feeling her moment coming soon. She said that though so quietly so that only Sasuke could hear. "I don't want her to hate..."

Sasuke felt his grip on his sword but shut his eyes, and threw the weapon across the floor. I watched in tears as Naruto and I wondered what just happened. Sasuke turned around, facing us. He looked dead straight at me with a serious stare. And somehow, I knew just what he wanted me to do. "No, no I won't kill Ino!" I hung my head, letting the tears drop. "I won't...!"

"Please, Sakura," she said, almost trying to sound at peace, despite her just about to drown in her own blood. "I don't want to turn... into one of them..." I imagined Ino, as one of those zombified students. Turning on us, killing us. She didn't want to hurt us. And she said that already, didn't she. "I'm begging you Sakura please," she said as humanely as possible, begging me to do the evil deed as tears formed into her own blue eyes, whose color was already beginning to fade.

I stood up from Naruto's loosen grasp. I walked over to the coughing Ino and picked up my bat, already stained with her spilled blood from her coughing fits and from her bite wound. My souless eyes starred down into her hers, our eyes were practically the same.

"Thank you," she mouthed, unable to speak anymore as she took her last dying breath.

My tears still fell. "I'm sorry," I chocked with my raised bat. Sasuke and Naruto looked away as I brought the bat down. The smash echoed throughout the library, the Yamanaka girl now deceased. Her blood didn't splatter over me as I expected. She had already lost so much maybe? I did it with my eyes closed, because I didn't want to see it. "She's gone..." I chocked again, still holding the bat over her. "Guys...?" I began to sob.

The two ran up to me as I turned around and dropped the bat, falling into Naruto's hug. I began to cry and sob into his shirt, completely loosing it. Meanwhile Sasuke went to get some kind of cloth to cover Ino's broken head with. Nothing else could be heard for hours as I cried. I had done so until I found myself asleep. Ino...

__

"You know, in our little group back then, I never did like half the kids in our group. We were the only girls, and those guys were always so annoying. But," she smiled. "But, do you know what my dream is?"

"What is it?"

"It's almost the same as yours, really," she answered truthfully. "My dream is to have all seven of us together again so we can have another picnic in the park."

"Picnic?" I asked with a look. "That's it?"

"Yeah, don't you remember?" she asked, mocking me. "Back in the day, we'd always hang out in the playground and eat lunch over the summer together. Then we'd all start singing some song we all liked." She chuckled. "Shikamaru always said I had a lame voice or something like that. The sad part is I kind of agree with him now. But, looking back, I get what you mean now when you say you miss everyone." She lifted her head. "But that's a dream for another day."

Honestly, I actually considered looking for everyone, like Ino suggested, just so that we could have that picnic in the park like old times.

But now, that would never happen. Ino was dead now. _All seven_ would never happen. I learned a long time ago that dreams would never come true. Dreams were just for daydreaming, just for thinking 'what if', 'What if's' that could never become reality. My dreams had just about the same odds as saying that I wished I had magical powers.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice spoke, calling me out of my sleep. Opening my eyes I felt the sore feeling of my physical body. My shoulder was aching and my neck felt stiff from my sleeping position. I was sitting against the library desk with my head leaning forward. I snapped it back, rubbing it. Sasuke was kneeling in front of me, offering out a plastic cup of water. The lighting was dim, so I could be wrong. Sasuke actually being polite to me? "Sakura, wake up."

I rubbed my eyes with my other hand, feeling some dry moisture around them from crying earlier. "Sasuke...?"

"Here, drink this. You need it," He said, turning away as he extended his arm. Looking down at his hand, I took the cup and drank the much-needed water. I wanted more, but I didn't question and I set the cup aside. Sasuke went over and plopped down next to me against the library desk. "Feeling better?"

"Sort of," I answered, seeing the shadow of Ino's dead body in the distance. Her head was covered by a blood-stained cloth, but I quckly adverted my eyes to my feet. "Where's Naruto?"

"Asleep somewhere in some chairs he tried to make into a bed. I've been keeping watch."

He didn't sound tired at all. "What time is it?"

"7:00P.M. But it's getting pretty dark outside," he said, glancing towards the windows behind, hovering over the bookshelves. "It's best we rest while we have the peace. We need it."

I just kept starring down at my feet, deep in thought. Based on what Sasuke said, he must've been 'keeping watch' for a while now. "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll keep watch for now."

"No way," he said with a look. I expected he would've said 'I'm not trusting my life with you' or something witty like that, but I could tell he was keeping that remark to himself. Remembering our previous events with my loosing it, I wouldn't trust my life with me either.

"Then I'll just look around," I said lifelessly, getting up to my feet. I heard stiff cracks in my legs. I must've been out for a long time as I stretched.

"For what?"

"Just books. I'm bored." Not even. I will _never_ be bored again, not after today. I heard him about to get up, but I stopped him. "Just let me be alone for now, okay?" I said quietly. I didn't know if he heard, but I continued walking, and he didn't follow. All I had on my mind was Ino and the look on her face before I killed her. _I_ killed her. I fought those zombies before and smashed their heads, but I never did it to someone still living, let alone one of my own friends.

__

Was I weak...?

As I wandered the isles of bookshelves of the dark library, I remembered one day from freshman year, one of the first few days of school. Sasuke and I were wandering around after classes, and we stumbled upon this old library the school closed off for some reason. Either way I always liked this place. I hid something here even as a keepsake for old things. _Everything_ in his library was old.

Finally I found the right shelf and the right book. Strange how I remembered. Pulling it out, I stood up and flipped through the dusty yellow pages and found its bookmark. It was an old photo, a bit dented at the sides but still clear nonetheless. It was an old picture of me and the old gang. Seven. Me, Sasuke, and Naruto. It was us three who started it all. And our other friends who had moved away: Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba. His puppy Akamaru was in the picture, too. Ino was beside me in the scene. We were outside Konoha Elementary in our school uniforms. I missed these times, and I felt myself smile faintly down at it.

I heard footsteps at the end of the bookshelf, and I saw Sasuke come up with his hands in his pockets. I guess he did follow me after all. "Yeah?" I asked emotionless.

He walked up to me, glancing at the photograph. "I see you found this old thing."

"I wanted to see if it was still here," I told, looking at the yellowing picture. Ino's secret dream, to get everyone together again. "Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"Why did we drift apart?" I asked wearily, starring down at the photo. "Me you and Naruto. We were so close in the beginning of everything. And now we just... disappeared from each other somehow."

Sasuke contemplated my question, careful with his words. "I don't know, really... I guess we just found less things in common. We grew up."

"Do we really have to grow up?"

"After today, can you really say we're normal kids?"

I gave a small scoff. "I guess not, but..." I closed the book placing it in the shelf and folding the picture to keep. "I just really want to go back right now. Having nothing to worry about, all of us just playing together." I looked at Sasuke. "Would you want that?"

"I don't see why not at this point." Anyone would want anything else at this point. "Why?"

I sat down against the bookshelf, still starring at the photograph. Sasuke sank down beside me. "Ino asked me about what we were going to do once we got out of the school." I glanced at the Uchiha at the corner of my eye. "What _were_ we going to do?"

Sasuke looked upwards, trying to recall the previous moments before all this madness. "When I first woke up in that nurses's office, all I could think about was getting you and Naruto out of this place, to somewhere safe." He paused with a scoff. "I wasn't really thinking of anything then."

"That's a shocker," I teased.

He ignored that. "Do you wanna know now? How I knew all this was going to happen."

"It might help."

Sasuke tried to recall his 'dream', if it ever was a dream. "After I fell during class, I _thought_ I woke up. School went about normally for me, but then at 1:00, everything went for the worse. Those zombies came and overtook the school." His eyes hardened. "Naruto was one of them..." I felt my breath hold. "And you ended up like Ino." He gripped his hands into fists. "That was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen... Then when I woke up in the nurse's office and found out it was all just a dream, I remembered that was exactly how the dream started. Waking up in the nurse's office and seeing it was a quarter to 1:00."

"And you tried to keep that all from happening..." I realized.

"Can you blame me?" Sasuke asked looking at me with a now calmer face. "I wasn't thinking straight for once, just grabbing you and Naruto out of class. I lost it then. I just wanted us to leave and... I don't know."

"That's what happens when you go crazy," I confided with a small smile. Naruto went crazy before, fighting those things. Made me wonder what went through his mind to loose it, but we all went through it today... Just today. "If I were still five, I never would've expected for any of this to happen to us."

"No one would," Sasuke imparted, taking a breather. Suddenly a creak echoed through the library, spooking Sasuke and I. However it was followed by a crash and a 'ow' from a familiar knucklehead we both knew. I sighed in relief as Sasuke did the opposite. "That idiot," he grumbled, rubbing his head.

"We better go check up on him. He might think we've abandoned him or something."

"Well-"

"Come on," I interjected, going to the source of the crash. And there laid a few knocked over chairs and Naruto, sitting on his bottom while rubbing his head from impact with the floor.

"That's the last time I make a bed out of rolling chairs," he muttered upon seeing us appear. "Oh, it's you guys."

"Your fall freaks me out half to death and that's all you have to say?" I playfully scolded, walking over and helping the poor boy up.

"I see you're back to your old self," Naruto smiled at me. "You better?"

"A little," I affirmed with a slight nod.

"So, what's the plan now?" he asked, rubbing his nose.

"That's exactly what we were about to discuss right before your little awakening disrupted the peace," Sasuke remarked.

"As if _we'll_ever find peace again," he muttered in a scoff. "But seriously, what're we doing?"

"Well I don't know," Sasuke frowned, getting tired of repeating questions. "It's up to you guys, I guess. You have any business you need to attend to? Checking up on other people or what?"

"Your parents?" I said as if it were obvious.

"They're off on business somewhere in America, so I don't have to worry about them at the moment," Sasuke assured. "And you two?"

"I live on my own. So in this case I'm kinda lucky I don't have to worry about anyone at my place," Naruto confessed, rubbing his head. "What about you Sakura? You worried about your folks?"

My parents? Truth be told, I just lived with my mother, whom I really didn't care enough for to want to go check to see if she was alright. My dad's dead according to her. Wish he wasn't, though. Might've made my childhood a little better. Nonetheless I lied. "My mom's on vacation, out of the country. Some kind family thing overseas."

"Then I guess chekcing up on parents isn't a factor in any of our cases," Naruto said as if it were a problem. Actually it was. We still had no were to go. Even worse, we had no where we wanted to go.

_"Remember back in freshman year, how you always wanted to look for all the others who moved away so we can all have a reunion one day?" Ino reminded._

_"I had no reason to look for them then," I answered through the mist. "It's high school. I bet everyone has changed by now. Gotten their own lives and moved on."_

_"Well, now you have a reason," Ino grinned. "Normally people still alive in this situation would be looking for their loves ones. Family for example. In this case, you can use this situation as a way and motivation for looking for all the others like you wanted." I heard her chuckle behind me. "Gosh, just the thought of it taking a whole zombie invasion to bring the old gang together. It sounds absurd, doesn't it?"_

My, motivation...?

"I know something I want to do," I spoke suddenly, surprising Sasuke and Naruto out of the blue.

"Well spit it out already," Sasuke mutered, cold hands inside his school pants pocket.

"The others," I said calmly, taking out the picture and showing it to them. "Let's go find the others."

"You're not serious are you?" Naruto asked, looking up close to he picture.

"Well I'm not joking," I pouted at him. "For so long I've wanted all of us to be together again, but I never had the motivation or the reason and will to find everybody." I clutched the picture between my fingers. "But now, I really want to find the others. I want to make sure they're okay." I noticed Sasuke and Naruto exchange unsure glances. "Come on you guys. I know you all used to be great friends back then."

"That was then," Sasuke reminded.

"Well now's now. I finally have the motivation to find them. I want to know they're alive." I was firm with my voice, trying my best to persuade them.

Neither of them answered for a while. "And if they're not?" Naruto risked, knowing it was probably a bad idea to say that in front of me. Questioning if they were alive was something that threatened my very sanity.

Nonetheless, I kept my stare. "Then that's that. I don't want to keep wondering. I want to stop thinking 'what if'." I glanced down. "All my life now I knew that dreams were just for day dreaming. Getting everybody back together was my dream before, but now it's not." I raised my head. "I'm making it my goal now, something I'm actually going to work for and not just wait around praying and wishing for. I want to find the guys and make sure they're okay." I turned my back on the two. "And besides, if you don't agree, then I'll go on my own."

"Basically you'd be committing suicide," Sasuke reworded, crossing his arms.

"Sure," I shrugged, trurning my head with a normal expression. "I've got nothing else to live for."

They guys starred up at me, wondering if I was bluffing. I seemed like the type to bluff, but right now I really wasn't. I seriously had nothing else to live for, so why not try to find everyone? Either way, I knew I'd get killed out there if I went it alone with just my bat. So secretly I was really hoping Sasuke and Naruto would go with me on this. This was my test, to see if they've really changed. If they've really... stopped caring. And if they stopped caring and decided not to go with me... then I guess this was it for me."Well...?"

Naruto responded with a sigh, crossing his arms behind his head. "Geez, Sakura's always been bossy sometimes but now this is just crazy." A sneaky grin appeared on his face. "But I'm in. I'd love to see the look on Kiba's face when he sees how much I can do with a hockey stick now."

I smiled at my blond friend and looked to Sasuke, the one left. "Sasuke...?"

He starred at my eyes, a sign he was actually thinking about it. I learned that quality of his after a long time. "I'll go," he started. "Only because I'll be alone to fend for myself if the two of you leave. Chances are I'll run into some girls who managed to survive this hell and cling to me in response." He did his old signature 'hn' thing that annoyed me so much in childhood. "If I knew that was going to happen I'd rather get bitten by those zombies."

"He said yes!" Naruto cheered for me.

"I said nothing," Sasuke glared at the boy.

"But you never said 'no' in that entire speech so you're going!" Naruto said in victory.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke turned, refusing to admit anything. But I smiled, watching Naruto and Sasuke argue together nonsensically just like the old days. They, actually agreed to go with me and look for the others. They haven't changed after all, have they.

I looked over at Ino's corpse, and somehow I still managed to keep my smile. "Looks like I'll be working for you dream, Ino." I closed my eyes with a small chuckle. "We'll find everyone and have a picnic, just like you wanted us to."

"Just admit it!"

"Go away, dobe."

"What? Heartthrob Uchiha too afraid to let out his feelings?"

"I'm warning you."

"Wanna fight!"

"You're even more of an idiot than I thought."

"SAY THAT AGAIN!"

* * *

**Here's chapter 2!**

**And thanks for the three reviews! I probably should'veupdated sooner, though. My bad. **

**Ino's gone now. I'm sorry to those who disapprove of that decision, but it's a part of the plot. Hey at least I let Ino die in a cool way. Well, in my point of view anyway. **

**Anyway in Chapter 3, the gang is finally going to attempt to leave the school. Will they make it out? And what will they find on the outside of the campus walls?  
Until next time! Bye!**

Oh and review again so I know how I'm doing. This is my first zombie-fic so what am I missing? Ah whatever. Later!


	3. Forever Fear, The Memory Lives

**Hey! Man I finally updated on this one.**

**I know it's been a while. My bad. It's only been one month of my Sophomore year in high school and I'm always coming home late.**

**But I've been bonding with my friend in drumming. And now he's going to sing in front of the whole school and it's all my fault! XD  
But yeah, I'll try to update every now and then. Not as often as I did in summer, and that still wasn't a lot...**

**But yeah. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are going to leave the school now and begin their search! Please review! And thanks to all of you guys who reviewed fo this in only the first two chapters. I feel happy about the reviews ^^**

* * *

After a while we decided we were going to leave the school for outside, soon. It was near midnight right now, and there was no way we could sleep through the rest of the night. All three of our weapons were placed beside each other while Naruto was scouring the old library for anything useful we could manage to carry. As I walked around I found Sasuke up on one of those sliding library ladders, going through book after book on the top shelves.

"What're you doing?" I called up, arriving at the base of the ladder.

With a pile of books balanced on his arm he slid down the ladder, landing at the bottom in front of me. "Just because I ditch class a lot doesn't mean I'm not smart. Here." He handed me a small flat looking textbook. Barely heavy. I opened the givin book as the Uchiha set the rest down on the floor. As I flipped through the pages I found multiple pages of maps of Japan. I realized very good use for this book. "It's not very recent or anywhere near up to date, but if we'll be on our own traveling, we'll be needing that."

"Yeah," I said with a non-laughing chuckle. I shut the old book. "What else did you find?"

"Surprisingly, I looked for a book on zombies. That's what makes up a majority of the pile there," Sasuke informed, pointing down at the stack. "But honestly I don't really know _what_to believe. Everything's so different it's hard to depict what's fictional and what's real."

"Everything out there seems fictional," I frowned, starring at the still locked door. It had barely budged since we locked it, but I knew we couldn't stay. We'll die in here without food. And I was getting hungry pretty quickly, not that it bothered me too much.

"At least we know that they go down for good by smashing their heads," Sasuke pointed out. I nodded solemnly, but then we heard Naruto rushing up to us.

"Here, I found a couple things we can use to carry stuff," he said, lugging over a huge supply of straps and things and dropping them in front of us.

"You couldn't have brought a bag or something?" I asked him, bending down and looking at the stuff.

"It's already tiresome to lug around our weapons. I figured bringing bags would slow us down so I just found these," Naruto said with some disappointment at that disadvantage.

"They're fine," Sasuke acknowledged.

I found a strap belt with some pockets. That'd be useful. And I picked up a holster I could strap around my thigh. It might not be very useful with my long skirt, but it could come in handy later on maybe. I could hold a knife in there, perhaps. I placed the tiny map-book in my belt.

"I also managed to find this on the library's display in the back," Naruto said, taking out something wrapped in a velvet cloth. Opening the purple cloth we found some knives inside. He handed them to me and took a strap off over his shoulder. "This sword was on display too," he said, looking to Sasuke. "Might make better use than that bamboo stick. Wood breaks."

Sasuke took the sheathed weapon in his arms, pulling the handle out slightly to see the blade. "I'll keep them both. They'll come into good use later on maybe."

Naruto nodded sternly, but I could tell by the look on his face he was kind of disappointed. I bet Naruto got the real sword for Sasuke so Sasuke would give him the bamboo weapon. Oh well, he seems to do pretty okay with his hockey stick.

"Well, is this it?" I asked, standing up. "We're really doing this?"

"It's what you wanted right?" Naruto grinned.

"Well yeah but," I looked to the side embarrassingly. "I don't really know where to start looking. I mean yeah they moved away but, I don't know where they could've moved to."

"That's where I came in," Sasuke interjecting, catching our attention. "While I took the turn to watch, I used the Internet on my phone." He took out his said phone. I never did get those things. The tiny buttons annoyed me and the constant sound of texting in class made me come to hate using phones. "The Internet's out now, but while it was still up I was able to find their addresses."

"You, found their addresses on the Internet?" I asked unsure. Naruto had the same look.

"Don't give me that look," he muttered with a short glare. "Either way I found them, so it makes our job easier."

"It's only those three right? Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru," Naruto recited.

Sasuke nodded. "Lucky for us they're still in the country, or at least Neji and Shikamaru are. Kiba lives out in America, but we can worry about him later. Right now us three are still in Tokyo. Cities are overpopulated. Overpopulation with a disease like this can spread pretty quick if the panic over-rises. Just like this school - it never stood a chance." A wave of seriousness washed over me. Keeping my sanity would be a lot harder than I thought. "We'll have to move fast if we want to get to the others, before those dead-beats do."

"And these locations are..." I followed up.

"If the information's recent, then the cities we have to get to are _outside_Tokyo. Shikamaru's close by, though. At Chiba, fourteenth most populated city in Japan. If we move by vehicle, we shouldn't have too much trouble getting there."

"Yeah except none of us can drive," Naruto reminded.

"None of us were supposed to leave class and kill students, but we did that," Sasuke pointed out with a scoff. "Sakura, you wanted this. Are you up for it?"

So, Chiba huh? "If we're gonna travel the country, we'll need more supplies here in Tokyo. Anything we could find."

"Then let's scour the city first," Naruto shrugged.

"I say that depends on how bad the city is," I pointed out. "Remember, we've been stuck in this place _all_ day. We haven't even looked outside campus yet." Tensity levels rose in our air. "I know for a fact that the entire city has been, infected by this thing. Whether the outside is worse than the school or not, we don't know yet. A _school_ is a lot smaller than Tokyo. Do the police have this under control or not, we don't know yet either. But we'll have to assume the worse and just _plan_ exactly where we're going. What is one place we know we can get everything we need, so we can leave Tokyo right after?"

All of us tried to think of a place. One place that won't have any people crowing in it. The less unnecessary people, the better. Grocery stores, too crowded. Gas stations? A lot of people would think of going there in our situation. Too risky.

"The toy store," Naruto suddenly suggested.

"..." Both Sasuke and I slowly turned towards the boy. Did we like _officially_ loose him? "Naruto that's a stupid idea," I said bluntly with an odd glare.

"No really! It'll have everything we need," the blond grinned. "I have a friend who owns the place. No one will ever think of going there for provisions."

"What would a toy store possibly have that we'd need?" Sasuke said skeptically.

Naruto kept his mischievous smirk. "You'd be surprised what my friend and I keep in that store for emergencies."

"... You're weird you know that?" I said next.

Then and there I would've interrogated Naruto through the entire night. First the air ducts now some provisionary toy store. But we didn't have a lot of time. By morning the city would definitely be swarming with panicking people, even worse than night. So we decided to take our leave then and ask questions once we got to Naruto's destination.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. It turns out the 'secret underground exit' Sasuke heard about was only a false rumor. I'm not surprised though. Can't say I'm happy, but we still had our plan B. Like said, we were prepared this time. Our weapons were at hand, and we had stocked whatever holsters we had on us with the small display knives. I had my bat. Naruto his hockey stick, and Sasuke his swords. The only way to leave was to storm out the school without stopping. We had killed a majority of the zombies on the first floor. We just had to prepare ourselves for a battle once we got to the courtyard gates.

"Ready?" Naruto asked as we starred at the giant library door. I never thought we'd ever have to open it again.

Sasuke nodded, reaching for his bamboo sword. He told us earlier the real metal one would be used for more serious fights, as if this wasn't serious enough. "Remember. I take the front and you two the rear. No splitting up and no looking back."

"Right," Naruto and I agreed simultaneously.

We unlocked the doors, and the creaking sound showed us the dark halls, dim hallway lights flickering with some sparks of falling electricity. Sasuke took off and Naruto and I followed, ready to take down whoever stood in our way. At the hall's intersection we faced a few but we never stopped running. Our running point down towards the front doors had halted to a stop once we closed the door behind us. Outside were a lot more of them, but the gate was open at the end of it. If we can create a clear enough path, we'd be just fine. _If_.

"Go!" Sasuke yelled out, and in our formation we battled, keeping our backs to one another's. The sound of cracking corpse heads sounded off, but I tried to ignore it.

"I really hope I don't get used to this," I muttered under my breath, doing a kick at one as I smashed another. To get used to _this_ kind of thing, and I was only fifteen.

"Guys duck!" Sasuke called out, Naruto and I jumped down to our knees. At that instant, Sasuke swung his long sword across in a circle, blowing away a fair amount of the zombie students and faculty that surrounded us.

"Man that was cool," Naruto uttered, holding his hockey stick up in defence.

"Alright, the pathway's clear. Let's make a break for it," I ordered, hurriedly getting up. With Sasuke leading and Naruto and I defending the rear, we ran down the courtyard, heading for the gates. "Almost there...!" Whatever was beyond it could be much worse, so we prepared ourselves.

According to Naruto, his assumed 'toy store' was near by up two blocks from Konoha High. However as we ran, I noticed the city was in just about as worse condition as the school. Cars were piled up on the streets, and people were running all over in all directions. I watched as zombified citizens of Tokyo bit and ate into the living's flesh. The familiar sick feeling rose in my stomach, but I managed to keep it down. The street lights allowed us to see, but only so much.

"How much farther?" Sasuke asked, having already seathed his sword back behind him.

"Close, but-" Naruto stopped talking for a moment and swung his hockey stick, pushing away one of the zombies on the sidewalk out into the street. "But these stiffs are running all over the place like moochers at lunch."

"Up ahead," Sasuke noticed, seeing a fair amount of them in the distance along the sidewalk. Slowly they limped in our direction, and Naruto and I ran with our weapons. But suddenly along the street, I witnessed a car crash into a street pole, a small explosion emitting a loud sound. At that instant, the zombies on the sidewalk and more around the closed-in area began to walk towards the car. The poor driver. Hopefully the car explosion got him before the zombies would.

"Sound - zombies are attracted to sound," I stated out in my tired breath. Running for so long you tend to loose energy, but in this kind of heat and apocalyptic atmosphere, you really can't get tired of running. Ever.

After that realization, the run back to the toy shop was less stressful for me. I had the urge to go around and help the other people, but I knew I had to protect myself and the guys first and foremost, no matter how selfish it seemed.

"Get away!" yelled a man with a gun we were passing by. He looked pretty unsure of himself in his awakening panic. He shot at a zombie, but he didn't aim for the head, so it just continued to walk towards him.

"The sounds of the gun shots are attracting more of them," Sasuke realized.

Finally in the screams of terror around the town, we had reached the small street shop Naruto talked about. He opened the door as it rung a tiny bell at the top, but we found it vacant. The windows were smeared with blood from the outside, yet the owner was no where to be found.

"The guy must've left when the panic started," Naruto uttered as we wandered the store. With the lights still working, it seemed fine this late at night. The toys surrounding me seemed to comfort me a little, reminding me I was still a living human girl.

Sasuke went to lock the door, though I doubted locking a _glass_door would help. Based on the outside, those zombies were strong enough to break any glass. "Naruto, just get your stuff and we'll leave."

"Ah pipe down. We're safe in here for the mean time so don't rush me," Naruto glared. Hoping over the small counter, Naruto went to the register, which was closed. He pressed the button, opening the register filled with cash. I noticed the greedy look on Naruto's face. That didn't surprise me too much.

"You're ridiculous you know that?" I scolded with a sweatdrop.

"Hey, when you're running away even in a time like this, we'll need some money," Naruto said, grabbing a nearby jean vest and putting it on over his white uniform shirt. He began to stuff the pockets with rolled up wads of cash using rubber bands in a near by drawer. "While I do my thing, why don't you guys look around. You'd be surprised with what you can find around here."

"It's a toy store, Naruto," I said flatly.

"That's what you _think_," Naruto grinned, going back to his beloved register. "I wouldn't be surprised if one of the toys here was rigged to be a BB gun. But hey, that's just me." With a sigh I turned around and went to explore the place. It wasn't very big, but I savored the temporary peace.

Doing what I could I wandered the toy store, Sasuke deciding to stand guard at the door. It was a fairly simple store. The shelves were lined with old fashioned toys. In most national toy stores I'd see boxes of figures from the latest media and all that. Everything in this place was just... simple.

"Just what am I supposed to find in here, anyway?" I uttered to myself. As I walked, I came across a small shelf of toy cars. A car, some kind of vehicle, we'd need one. Of course, after everything out there, it'd be pretty hard to drive anywhere without traffic building up, not to mention the potential chances of accidents. None of us could drive so what experience did we have?

Then again that's just me.

We'd have to get something to drive once we got out of town. It's senseless to drive here. Among my findings, I found a small glass counter with some trinkets. Jewelry, decorated boxes. If I weren't in mortal danger I'd consider buying something. Trinkets like this always seemed to fascinate me somehow. I felt myself grip my bat but I fought against it. I don't need these right now. We need provisions.

On a nearby rack which caught my eye, I managed to find some candy. We'd need them for for later if it's all we could find. I found a tiny stuffed-animal-like strap bag and began to stuff its back with food, if you consider sugar and sweets sustainable food. Giant book bags would be a hassle to lug around, but an anime-show bag like this shouldn't be too troublesome to carry.

"I found some food," I spoke up, walking back to the front with three bags of gummies.

Sasuke glanced down at my hand. "You call that food?"

"It's better than nothing," I muttered at him as I threw Naruto one, who caught it without a hassle. I swear, Sasuke is so hard to read sometimes. It's like he has two different sides of him. "So Naruto, you find enough cash? I really don't think there'll be too much use for it."

"It's not really the cash I came here for," Naruto replied, looking like he was searching for something. Feeling the counter and looking through a couple of drawers, he found what appeared to be a paper clip and he began to unbend it.

"Now what are you doing?" Sasuke questioned with a look as he walked over to the counter to us. I got the feeling he didn't like the idea of being in a toy store. Honestly I never thought I'd see him in one really.

"Getting the thing I came here mainly for," Naruto grinned, bending over under the counter. Sasuke and I leaned over and saw the teen unlocking something. With a guy like this he tends to come in handy but just what exactly was he getting? "Aha, got it," he said with a click of the pad lock. Hurriedly throwing the thing to the side he opened the green-painted cabinet, revealing a hoard of small black guns inside a white cardboard box-tray. My eyes widened as Naruto lifted the box out and set it down on the counter, which Sasuke and I both found quite surprising. "What's with the looks?" Naruto asked, kind of amused.

"Um," I stammered, scratching my pink head. "Obviously I'm, kind of in shock. What kind of toy store owner keeps guns in his shop?"

"My friend's, an odd one. But right now," Naruto lifted a gun, practicing holding one as he aimed it at the wall. "I'll have to thank him if we run into him."

Hesitantly I looked down into the box. I've never seen a gun up close. I never thought I'd _have_ to see one. But nonetheless, I reached onto the tray and picked up one of the guns. They all appeared the same, but I felt kind of nervous holding one. I felt even _more_nervous with Naruto holding one. I inspected the police weapon, careful not to hold the trigger. I was still a nervous wreck inside, feeling my heart racing.

I licked my lips a little as the memory came to me. "A nine millimeter pistol," I said unconsciously, as if reading it from a book.

"A what?" Naruto asked with a slight laugh.

"They all appear the same. It's better for close range fights, but like we saw outside, we should only use guns if it's absolutely necessary," I continued, looking at tthe rest of the guns.

"Since when did you know about guns?" Sasuke asked skeptically, leaning against the green counter.

"I'm in the advanced classes at school, so I'm able to take Junior electives. During the second semester I took Criminal Justice classes. Then somewhere along the lines I heard about these things."

"Somehow I feel safer _you_ know how to use them," Naruto chuckled.

"I don't," I said blankly, making Naruto react with a defeated face. "I've only studied about them. I never thought I'd ever hold one."

"Well hopefully we don't have to use one," Sasuke interrupted, taking the gun out of my hand and placing it back into the box. "Guns are too risky to use with those things attracted to sound."

"Oh be reasonable, Sasuke. If we ever get surrounded and we loose our other weapons, these things could become life-savers," I argued as Naruto continued to look at them, taking one and putting it into is school belt.

Sasuke kept his firm glare. "Fine, do what you want."

"I will," I said, a little weirdered out. I took a gun and put it into the belt around my skirt. "Aren't you gonna take one?"

"I'm just fine without a gun," he answered with closed eyes.

"Quit being a cocky jerk and just take the thing already," Naruto urged, shoving the weapon in his space.

"I told you, I'm not taking it," Sasuke repeated, pushing Naruto's arm away kind of roughly. "I'm heading to the back room. Call me when we're ready to leave this place." Naruto and I watched as the guy left the counter's presence, and we didn't say a word as he did.

"What a guy eh?" Naruto said first.

"I'll say," I sighed out, leaning my arms on the green counter. "I wonder what's up with him."

"Hey, it's Sasuke. The guy's a loner all the time in school. Must be having 'trouble adjusting' to us again or something," Naruto said with a wave and a nostalgic chuckle. We stood in silence, looking at the guns in the counter. "You know Sakura, it's been a while since the three of us spent any time together. Sure now's a real weird time to start but, I'm kinda glad we all ended up here."

"Got a point in there somewhere?"

"Surprisingly yeah," Naruto scoffed, checking the barrel of each gun. Each one had at least two bullets. "If I didn't know Sasuke, and that he was just some stranger to me, I would've just said that me and you should leave right now. But," he made a sheepish grin. "Sasuke's our friend. Hell he was one of the best friends I ever had back in the day." He went to practice aiming another gun at the wall. "_And_ if I remember correctly, the guy had a lot of secrets he used to keep all bottled up inside."

"Yup," I remembered, looking down at my arms.

"I remember the guys and I always used to pester him but, he always seemed to open up to you. And only you," Naruto smiled. "I always thought that it was because you were a girl, but one the day I sent Ino in after him I learned it was only just you. Ino wouldn't stop talking to us I mean like, she just _doesn't_stop crying." He and I shared a laugh. That was Ino back then. "Listen Sakura, I know the two of us haven't talked together in a real long while but, believe me when I say I think it's a good idea that you go talk to that jerk. I bet if I went I'd end up in a worse condition than if I went and faced those stiffs outside alone."

I smiled at him and nodded. "Be right back, Naruto."

I left my stuff at the front of the shop and went to the back door. Going through, I found a back alley with a dumpster, clear of any zombies thank heavens. The second thing back here was a black fire escape ladder. Sasuke wasn't back here, so I assumed he was up there. It was dark, but the back alley light allowed me to see a little.

Jumping up and grabbing the ladder, I climbed up to the top of the apartment and found Sasuke up on the roof. Geez this guy finds the most difficult hiding spaces. I was about to jump up to reach the roof but my footing missed and I made an almost-falling sound. Sasuke shifted and saw me hanging, and quickly went to pull me up.

"About time," I breathed out as I was pulled to my feet. "Thanks."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, getting us away from the edge.

"To get you obviously," I answered back with a face as I pushed some of my hair back. "Besides, you said to get you when we would leave, so you can't be too surprised to see me."

"So we're going?"

"No not yet," I snapped at him. I let out an aggravated sigh. "Listen... I just wanted to come up here and... check up on you."

"Check up on me," he repeated slowly.

"Well, yeah. I mean..." Why exactly did I come? "I don't know. When you stormed out of there back then I guess you can say I kind of, got worried, a little."

I heard him make a scoffing sound through his nose, but I kept my eyes gazing another way. "Come here. I want you to see something." He walked forward towards the other end of the small roof, and I followed hesitantly. It looked like a really peaceful place aside form the sirens and screams from down below. Once we got near the edge he went up behind me and enclosed his hands over my ears, blocking out the violent sounds. "Now look up."

I tilted my head upwards, having barely heard Sasuke's voice. But upon glancing towards the night sky I saw what I never thought I'd see again. Despite the city's bright lights and chaos, the sky was filled with stars somehow, as if like magic. "Oh my..."

"I thought you'd like it," I felt Sasuke smile behind me. "It's a lot better when you can't hear everything down there."

"Tch yeah," I laughed, grinning up like a fool. "But, how is this possible? You're not supposed to be able to see stars when there's so much light coming from the city."

"Maybe it's a small miracle before we risk our lives in the next hour or so," Sasuke reminded. I smiled at his touch, his hands comfortably over my ears. "And... thanks for coming up here."

"Huh?" my head jumped. It's not that I didn't hear him. It's just that, did he really say that?

"You and all the other guys used to follow me around like stray dorks back in the day," Sasuke started. "But for some reason I could never shake _you_ off."

I kept my faint smile as I felt a strangely peaceful breeze through my school uniform. "I was pretty stubborn back then."

"Which I am oddly grateful for," he remarked, his hands still resting on my ears. "Sorry about snapping at you guys downstairs."

"Why did you, anyway?" I asked quietly. "I know you aren't exactly that close with me or Naruto anymore. So I don't blame you for getting mad at us."

"It, wasn't really you guys I was mad at," Sasuke faltered as we kept our heads looking up, ignoring the city. "It's just those guns... Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Why would I?"

He paused. "And you won't tell Naruto."

"Not unless you want me to."

I felt him relax a little. "Remember that one day at the park a few years ago? Me and you agreed to meet at there."

"I think I remember that," I recalled faintly. But then my tiny smile faded away. "Oh... Now I remember... You were late. I called your mom and she said that you were at home sick that day."

"It's not that," Sasuke frowned. "I know you remember Sakura." I did. I just didn't want to. "While I was stuck in bed that day I learned that there was a shooter around the block on my dad's police radio outside. And the guy was headed for the park." The memory was coming back to me as I listened. It was so long ago I practically forgot. "I got so scared for you, that you could've been shot then... and maybe even die." I lifted my hand, touching Sasuke's on my right ear. "I even snuck out of the house with Itachi to make sure you'd be okay."

"So that's what happened..." I remembered in astonishment, lowering my head a little. The sight reminded of the city's condition. But I remembered Itachi. Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother who had...

Sasuke nodded behind me, a distant look in his eye. "That was the first time I ever saw a gun fire."

"Me, too...," I said with lowering eyes. "I remember I saw the shooter's get-away car outside the park. He got out of the car and began shooting everywhere." My eyes got foggy. "All the kids were screaming and hiding. Even me."

"And Itachi and I were trying to get to you as fast as we could..." Sasuke told. "That guy was about to shoot you, too."

"But you came and hugged me," I recalled in disbelief. Sasuke... had actually done something like that for me. He risked his own life to save mine once long ago. But that was when... Itachi...

"I lost my older brother that day," Sasuke recited, reading my mind. My welled-up eyes closed as I felt tears come along. I remembered Itachi as Sasuke's good older brother. He watched out for all of us when we were younger. He had givin up his life to save mine and Sasuke's, and got shot. The tears fell silently into my crossed arms. However I felt Sasuke's hand leave my ears, and the sounds outside became much more clearer. His arms draped over my shoulders in a loose hug as I held his arms with my hands in an attempt of comfort. At the thought of Itachi's death, I thought back about my dad's and Ino's deaths too. And even more to come in the future. "It's hard to loose people you care about so much."

At that instant I turned around and hugged Sasuke, crying into his school shirt with silent muffled sobs. I must've taken Sasuke by surprise, but he hugged me back with one arm and held the back of my head with the other. "Sasuke," I sobbed, "I miss them so much." My shoulders shook as Sasuke tied to calm me. This was Sasuke's secret... he couldn't stand the sight of guns. They had taken the life of a loved one.

"I miss them, too," he whispered solemnly, holding me as he overlooked the city below us.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Naruto packed up the rest of the stuff into the cabinets. All of the hand-guns were packed away into our belts for future use, along with some extra bullets. However he heard footsteps from the back of the toy store approaching. With a jump from the caution of being in danger still, he felt relieved to see it was just Sasuke and me. "Oh, you guys," he said with a nervous breath. "So... we all good?"

"We can go now," I smiled, glad Naruto sent me up there to talk to Sasuke.

"Well yeah but, I mean uh, are we all okay now?" Naruto corrected awkwardly, scratching his cheek.

"We're good, dobe," Sasuke said with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey I'm tryin' to be nice," Naruto glared in a mutter.

"Well so am I," Sasuke glared back.

Guess somethings never really do change after all. I sighed, ruffling my hair on the left side of my head. I tend to do that when I'm frustrated. "Let's just go now. The faster we find a vehicle outside the city, the faster we can get to our next destination."I put up a bright smile. "We're all friends now, right?"

I felt the two stare at me as Naruto looked away, rubbing his neck. "Yeah I guess."

"I'm not," Sasuke opposed, walking towards the door.

"WHAT HEY!" Naruto snapped, jumping on and over the counter with an accusing arm. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO JUST DENY MY FRIENDSHIP ACCEPTANCE!"

"Quit yellin. You'll attract zombies to the store," Sasuke said annoyed with a finger in his ear.

"I DON'T CARE YOU APOLIGIZE TO SAKURA!"

"I don't have to apologize for anything."

"You think you're all that don't you, Uchiha!"

"More than you, that's for sure."

"Wanna say that again, you bastard!"

I let out a satisfied sigh. No matter how hard I try they're always gonna be like that. But, what other way could there possibly be? However, I glanced out the toy store glass window, seeing a few of those wandering stiffs, zombies we would have to kill the minute we stepped out that door. Hopefully, we can manage to live through this.


	4. Saving Deliverance

**Finnally I can update on this again!**

**I'm sad. High School of the Dead won't air anymore episodes.**  
**Thus I have more motivation to keep this fic going!**

**I would have updated a few days ago but I got mixed up in a lot of things. Anyway in this chapter, Sakura and the guys are trying to leave Tokyo, but they run into a very difficult problem on the way. Thanks for the reviews so far!**

* * *

"Hand me the water bottle," I said as Naruto handed me one from the smashed vending machine. Sasuke was already gulping his down, tossing the bottle away shortly afterwards. The three of us have been traveling by foot across Tokyo for over an hour now, down south according to the map book.

"Are we far away enough from the city?" Naruto asked, leaning against a worn down building. We were currently resting on some isolated suburban shops out of the main city, with nicely a lot less zombies. Maybe not even any at all in this tiny area. You can guess how tired we were, though, trying to reach this place. And our uniforms were a mess. Made me wonder why we couldn't have changed earlier in our run. But for me somehow, I couldn't find myself to part with my school uniform. It reminded me that I was still a kid.

Or at least that I was supposed to be.

"We should be far enough to be able to drive without a problem," Sasuke said, his elbows resting on his knees. "All we need is something we can drive decently and that'll last long enough for the long-haul."

"How about a bus?" Naruto shurugged, splashing some water form his bottle onto his dirty arms. "It should be able to carry us and anyone we pick up on the way."

"We're helping people now?" Sasuke said skeptically.

"Well Naruto does have a point. We never know who we could find on the way while we're looking for the others," I chimed in, siding with Naruto surprisingly.

"Aha! Sakura sides with me so you can't argue!" Naruto shouted like he won something.

Sasuke glared but kept his non-temperamental expression. "Fine. Say we _are_ going to use a bus. Where are we supposed to find one?"

With a grin Naruto stood up, a confident look on that idiotic face. "It's Tokyo! There should be one around somewhere!"

"He makes it sound so easy" I muttered with a slight frown, Naruto already marching off in a distance.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Dobe."

With that in mind, the three of us scoured around once again in search of a vehicle we could use. All of our weapons were present in case a zombie were to come and try to surprise us. We also had to keep the gun-usage to a minimum if we wanted the area to _stay_ zombie free. Such a nice place of peace. It'd be unfortunate for all of them to start running down here to ruin it all.

Anyway, in the midst of walking down a country-like high way with side-to-side tall yellow grass, we managed to find something almost better than a bus, in terms of convenience anyway. A black van was up the long street in a distance. It reminded me of one of those vans that you'd suspect of stalking people, then kidnapping them. Right now, that would be the last thing I'd expect at the moment.

"Anyone inside?" I asked as we inspected the windows of the van.

"As far as I know, nope," Naruto said, pressing his face against the window. Even worse he started making faces at his reflection. Geez.

'_This guy..._'

Meanwhile I noticed Sasuke standing behind glance at the corner of his eye. Suddenly he drew his swords and faced behind him. Naruto and I jumped in statement. It was then we saw three others, none of whom we recognized. And they had guns. A lot more reason to _not _like this. It seemed to be a draw, though. With three guns pointed at us, Sasuke had two swords at the leader's neck.

I took in the image of the leader, narrowing my eyes as I memorized the scene. He had very grey hair with round-rimmed glasses. He looked decently young, although I hated the sinister look in his eye. I don't know whether it was a gift or curse for me to be able to tell a person's true intentions by looking into their eyes.

The stranger smirked, still holing his gun to Sasuke as his two other guys had guns pointed at Naruto and me. "You may kill me, but either way the three of you _will _die." Sasuke glared at he stranger for his threat. "I suggest dropping your swords. Now."

With a finale death stare, Sasuke dropped his arms to his side. Naruto and I stood completely still as the grey-haired man ordered the two behind him to apprehend our guns and make us drop our bat and hockey stick. While we were busy, I paid special attention to the stranger and Sasuke.

"Swords," he said, walking around Sasuke with his gun, acting all high and mighty. "Kind of old fashioned now don't you think?"

As I expected Sasuke kept quiet. The girl of the group suddenly had my hands behind my back as the other guy searched Naruto against the van for any more weapons on him.

"I assume you know how to use them pretty well," the man continued to Sasuke. "Maybe you'd like to join us. You'd be a great asset to any group, really. Your talent's wasted here."

"I'm not in the mood for any deals," he replied coldly.

As I listened, I suddenly felt the hair behind my head get tugged as I was pushed against the van by the other guy. Of course I gasped or shouted or something. His hands searched me in more ways than one I'll say that. And I couldn't struggle or else they'd shoot. It's a good guess. "Let go of me!"

"Sakura!" I heard Sasuke yell, but I felt him stop abruptly. Probably from their leader. The stranger searching me for weapons pressed my head against the van in a painful way, and I couldn't move my head since he held my hair. It really hurt like hell.

"Hey you already searched her let go of her ya perve!" Naruto yelled, being held back by the girl.

"Still not in the mood for negotiating?" the man behind Sasuke said, pushing up his glasses. "The name I go by is Kabuto, and you should know I _never_ take no for answer." Guns were held up at my neck, as well as Naruto's. And I couldn't see Sasuke's head from this angle. But why him? What does this guy want with Sasuke?

"Fine."

'_No_.'

The man Kabuto smirked. "Smart." He walked up to the teen. "I suggest you leave your wooden sword. It'll be of no use to you. Unnecessary things will always be a burden these times."

"S-Sasuke don't..." I uttered in my breath as my eyes narrowed. I could still feel the point of the gun on my skin. But all of a sudden I felt a knock on the back of my neck from the guy holding my hair. It knocked the wind out of me. Naruto too I think, based on what I heard. The two of us fell flat on the ground, unable to move and barely able to stay awake. My body was urging me to shut down completely, but I fought it and kept my gaze at Sasuke.

His eyes showed remorse and regret as I felt my eyes grow forcefully heavier.

"S-Sasu...ke..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I could feel an intense heat over my head and on my arms. Sunlight most likely. Scrunching my fingers together I forced my eyes to open. Sunlight was instantly caught in them and I turned the other way, hitting my forehead on what appeared ot be the van's tire. My hand rushed to my head in agonizing pain as I scrunched my teeth together. "Ow..." It was then I realized what just happened before.

Then I turned around and saw the empty road, along with Naruto's unconscious figure. When I noticed Sasuke and those guys were no where in sight, I dragged myself over to the blond. "Naruto, Naruto wake up," I hurried, shaking him with my other arm. My hand was still caught onto my head. I groaned again as the pained returned. "Geez why'd I have to hit myself? Naruto you dolt get up already!"

After shaking him for a while he began to stir, finally. I held turn him over on his back as he sat back up sore. "What happened...?"

"Sasuke's gone." His head jumped. "Those thugs went and got him remember?"

"Him and all our stuff," Naruto drawled, feeling his vest and belt. Our first weapons were still over on the concrete, though. Our bat and hockey stick. "Sasuke's really gone?"

"Well I don't see him anywhere," I said, remembering to drop my hand from my forehead. "Only his bamboo sword's left. And there's no telling where they left to. His name was Kabuto, I think..."

"So now what?"

"What do you mean now what we go find him!" I retorted, pulling him back up to his feet. I grabbed my bat, too.

"But why? Like you said they could be anywhere. And don't you think it's most likely that he's... dead?"

With a gloomy look I glanced over to Naruto at the bottom corner of my eyes. "I really hope not. But in this case that'd be unlikely. That Kabuto guy really looked like he wanted Sasuke as a part of his group or whatever. Surviving in a zombie-apocalyptic world, you'd want the best of the best. And let's face it, Sasuke's one of the best when it comes to combat."

"So he should be alive then."

"That's right," I said, eyeing his bamboo sword left on the ground. Naruto saw it too. "Kabuto said for Sasuke to leave that here since he wouldn't be needing it." I hardened my stare. "Probably thought the metal sword was better alone." Deciding not to leave it in the dust I walked over towards Sasuke's old sword. I bent down to pick it up, but Naruto called me to stop all of a sudden.

"Wait! Sakura hold on!" he shouted, running up to me from behind. Naruto stood me straight back up, backing away a little as if the sword was one of those zombies.

"What? What? What is it?"

"The handle of Sasuke's sword," Naruto stated, checking his watch. It was part compass. "It's facing south off road."

"And your point is?"

A nostalgic grin grew upon the blond's face. "Did you forget, Sakura?" He chuckled. "Remember how back when the ol' gang would play hide and seek during recess at school. You and Sasuke were always cheats in that game. Whenever _you_ would count, Sasuke always dropped a pencil on the ground pointing to where I was hiding."

"We did that?"

"You two did that in every hide and seek game we played!" Naruto snapped. "But that's not the point right now! Look!" His arm pointed down to Sasuke's sword. "I know it's a long-shot guess but maybe he dropped it this way on purpose to give us some sorta clue as to where he went at least."

"Naruto that's ridiculous."

"Hey you and I both know _you_ wanna look for him," Naruto smirked with an accusing finger. "We already agreed you, me, and chicken-bum out there would stick together until we got all the rest of the others back together." He gave me that look. "Come on admit it."

After trying to resist those teasing blue eyes I looked away with crossed arms. "Fine, we'll try. Only because we have no other leads." I turned towards where Sasuke's sword pointed. "But it just leads out into the cornfields. There's no telling whether there'll be able dead-beats in there or however long it goes."

"Then we'll use the van," Naruto said, picking up his hockey stick and knocking on the vehicle. He managed to open the front door, which was thankfully not locked, and check the insides. "There's a possibility there's a key somewhere in this thing, but obviously we have no time to go looking for it. I can just hot-wire the van and we can travel in this like we originally planned."

"Since when did you learn how to hot-wire a car?" I asked with a small laugh. This guy never ceases to amaze me.

"Magicians never reveal their secrets. Why should I?"

After locating a tool box in the back of the van, Naruto managed to ignite the van's engine and get it running. There was a wooden fence along the road, but we could ram it down, along with the cornfield. After getting our three remaining weapons and climbing into the passenger's seat, I instinctively fastened my seat belt on, just because Naruto would be driving. "I really know I shouldn't ask, but have you ever drivin a car? Ever?"

"We've never fought zombes before but we seem to be doing pretty good." He stepped on the pedal. "Here goes nothing!"

"Why didn't I steal a helmet back there?" I mumbled to myself, gripping the arm rest and my bat. The van tank was full of gas, and we sped straight off the road and into the outskirts of the street, breaking the picket fence. Running over giant stalks of corn wasn't too bad. Running over occasional zombie farmers, that kinda freaked me out a bit. They just jumped onto the hood out of nowhere before being flung off by the speed. Knowing Naruto, he just looked at this like another video game.

"Be a little more careful ever try that!"

"You wanna drive?"

Dropping my bat to the floor I gripped onto my seat belt, which was restraining me from flying through the windshield. I've honestly never felt this much adrenaline. Not even when fighting those stiffs. For once, the one thing that scares me more than dying or getting bitten by a zombie, is Naruto's driving.

'_Sasuke you're a dead man for this!_'

We managed to get past the cornfields (THANK YOU) and into some clear land. That didn't seem any way nerve-calming, though. It was a lot of rual area here, but Naruto still had to dodge a bunch of things. Houses, buildings, and we still kept on going in the same direction: east. To make things worse, this part of Tokyo actually _had_ more zombies.

"Naruto do we even know where we're going anymore?"

"No! Blame Sasuke for his lame clue!" He made a rough turn as to not hit a huge metal wire fence that suddenly sprang up out of nowhere. The whole van almost tipped over I swear. Made me wonder if I were any worse of a driver. Why teenagers always looked forward to getting their driver's licence, I'll never know. Seems like a lousy way of getting places, wasting gas and all that.

But driving up and down every road was getting us no where. I realized that pretty quickly. But I could hardly think with all the distractions coming at me. Where the heck could that Kaubto guy have taken Sasuke?

I didn't think about it, but almost how many hours have gone by now? You think I'd be getting pretty sick of driving around some forsaken city like this, but I just didn't for some reason. Now that I was actually thinking, I took it upon myself to check the gas tank. The spiny red needle was twitching from E to the second-last line. "We're almost out of gas."

"You don't say," Naruto said, taking another turn. He seemed to have calmed down after getting all wound up early on. But either way he was still the more alert out of the two of us, I admit that much. Goes to show how much more difficult the situation is.

Soon enough we reached a dead end with a huge amount of zombies. There were too many to run through so Naruto stepped on the breaks, resulting with turning the car in circles. I could tell by the sound that we were making skid marks. We managed to throw some zombies off this way, as if that'd help much. With the obvious battle coming forth Naruto and I quickly unbuckled our seat belts and climbed to the back so we could get up onto the roof of the van. Holding my steel bat ready in hand, I prepared for the worst. Already the stiffs were gathering out, trying to desperately reach their next meal.

I felt Naruto grit his teeth together. "Damn, why does there have to be so many of them here?"

"They must've been going after something before. Maybe a noise that attracted them all into one spot." Seeing one about to grab my foot I rose the end of my bat and smashed the guy's hand, kicking his head and managing to push him off. So much for beheading him. I noticed Naruto do the same on his end.

"I don't see any other living people around here," he said, smashing heads of some zombies below us with his hockey stick. "Maybe there were a bunch of survivors making noise out here and we got here too late."

As I dealt with some of the endless dead coming at us, I concentrated on our surroundings. Someone was definitely here before us I know that. I found some zombies in the distance, gone and dead for real. Bodies were decapitated with their respectable heads close to them. It was a clean-cut-shot, a move only someone with a sleek sword could do. "Sasuke...!" Out of a sudden rage I rose my bat and smashed the head of the nearest zombie down below us. And at that I noticed some other zombies with gun shot holes in their foreheads. "And they used our guns!" Another zombie was gone with clear blood on my bat.

"So those guys went through here already huh?" Naruto spoke, venom obviously dripping in his tone.

"And by the looks of it they probably lived." I gained back my sanity, knocking back a fair amount of those zombies.

Naruto smirked, making a fist with one hand and raising his hockey stick with the other. "WELL THEN IF THEY CAN GET THROUGH THIS HELL HOLE WE CALL A DEAD-END STREET THEN WE CAN TOO!"

"You dolt! Your voice is attracting more zombies!" I said with a panicked expression, whacking away as many as I could. Naruto's voice seemed to have, motivated them. They were beginning to reach higher. Climbing now. Geez, I can imagine an old friend of ours, Shikamaru, saying 'what a pain' this all was.

As I tried to drive them off the van, I observed the area one more time. Following the trail of decapitated zombies, I found an alley wall on the dead end. A decently high brick wall that someone like Sasuke could easily get over by jumping. That was my next wing-it guess. "Naruto over there!" I called out, shooting my pointing arm. "We need to get over that wall. You think we can make it?"

"What about the van?"

"It has no gas what makes you think it's coming with us!" I stood up, looking for somewhere to jump off to. I saw one of those store signs with a fire escape we could jump across down the short block. Then one of those telephone poles you could climb up to reach the height of the wall and hopefully manage to cross over. "Just follow my lead and don't die, got it?"

"Easier said than done, Sakura, but what exactly are you-"

"GO!" I jumped off the van, hovering over the crowd of zombies. In that split-second that lasted a whole lifetime for me, a drip of sweat made it's way off the side of my face. You think that I would be scared out of my mind to be doing this kind of stunt. But for some reason I felt no fear. I just had one thing on my mind: rescuing Sasuke.

Naruto watched wide-eyed as I just barely made it onto one of the store signs. "The hell...?"

I was surprised the sign was able to hold me, but I didn't wait to find out and continued to jump across the stores to reach the telephone pole. My bat was behind my back being held by a strap.

"Dammit Sakura wait up!" Naruto called, copying my steps as he raced after me. I jumped against the last store and up towards the telephone pole. I managed to grab one of those tiny metal things on the wooden pole. It hurt to hold onto it, but it was either that or the zombies down below how many feet. Using my motivation of actually wanting to live, I climbed up. Probably didn't help with the clothes I had on, either. When I remembered Naruto I glanced down and noticed he was climbing as well. I could see he was doing his best not to look up as I had a skirt on. I couldn't help but feel myself smile a little at his maturity.

"How much longer till we reach the top?" Naruto grimaced, feeling the pain in his hands. It really hurt me, too.

"We can't get all the way to the top. We'll just have to make a jump for the wall," I called back down. I could feel the vibrations in the pole from the zombies below us.

"Are you crazy? We won't make that jump!"

"Got any other bright ideas?" I said down at him with a 'duh' face. Can't exactly do much else up here.

Naruto's face scrunched up. "Just for the record, I officially hate winging things now."

"Well get used to it," I smirked, climbing up a little higher for a better chance at my jump. One I found myself high enough I jumped one more time over the spiraling death hole underneath me. I managed to just barely grab onto the top of the brick wall with my left hand. And damn that hurt like hell, too.

"Sakura!" Naruto called, still climbing to get to the same height as I did.

"I can do this," I gritted through my teeth. My right hand reaching upwards managed to get to the wall too. And with the same motivation as before, I pulled myself up, throwing my leg over the wall. It was a pretty thick wall, but stern enough to keep the zombies on the other side. After steadying myself I looked over to Naruto across at the telephone pole. I sweatdropped at how he looked, clutching for his life. I know I was doing the same while climbing but he just looked _real_ pathetic. Reminded me of a feline holding onto the branch of a tree. "Jump you moron!"

"You can't rush these things, you know!"

"Well I did!

"Do I look like Cat Woman no! I can't jump far distances and lug around heavy bats like you can so just let me deal with this on my own!"

"Well I'm not waiting around forever," I pouted with crossed arms. Honestly I don't blame Naruto for being scared, but if he didn't jump, he'd eventually loose his grip and fall to his doom. I didn't want to tell him that otherwise he'd really fall. "Don't worry I'll grab onto you if you don't make it!"

"Promise!"

"I promise," I nodded sternly and convincingly. With meaningful and hopeful eyes I outstretched my hand towards Naruto. I sincerely hoped he would make it too. Because like Naruto said, he wasn't a jumper like I was. I doubted even Sasuke had the same abilities as me when it came to situations like this.

'_Come on Naruto..._'

My outstretched hand reminded me of another moment in childhood. Sasuke, Naruto, and I had went camping with the class in elementary school, but the three of us had wandered off. Naruto, being him, fell into one of those rapid rivers and was being carried down the current. Naruto had managed to grab hold of a rock in the middle of the river by the time Sasuke and I caught up to him. He was too far to reach, so Sasuke and I linked hands and tipped me over the edge of the river to reach Naruto. Sasuke held onto my right arm as I had my left one extended out towards Naruto.

I had managed to get a hold of Naruto then until I fell into the river too. Thankfully Sasuke was there to save both our skins and pull us out of the river. Sure we got sent to the school bus afterwards for the entire trip, but that was the first real danger we had ever faced together.

And now here I was.

"Come on, Naruto. Be a man," Naruto gritted through his teeth to himself. With his hockey stick at his belt, Naruto lept from the telephone pole and towards the wall. He wasn't high enough to reach the top of the wall like I did, and I had a premonition of his hand reaching the third top layer of bricks only. And so with that I lept off the wall and reached for Naruto's arm again.

I caught him.

Naruto was now dangling in the middle of the wall, one of my hands gripping onto one of his. The only thing keeping us from falling were my feet hanging from the top of the wall. All of the blood was rushing to my head so I lifted it a bit. That made my neck feel a little sore. And my skirt was longer still so it didn't exactly fall downwards either. But that was the least of my worries. From the looks below, it seems our commotion about the jump attracted the stiffs.

"SAKURA THIS IS HORRIBLE!" Naruto cried out.

"You think? Stop squirming or you kill us both!" I tried to reach with my other hand for Naruto but it put too much strain on my feet at the moment. "Dammit, we're stuck." And it wouldn't be long until my feet would give.

A moaning zombie camp up below Naruto to try and reach for his hovering ankle. Naruto noticed and tried to desperately kick the hand away. One grab from one of those super-string zombies and we'd both be goners. But hey, I tried to keep my spirits up. This could always be worse. "Hey back off!" Naruto yelled with a vein, trying to kick away everything reaching for him. "Why the hell do I have to be the one near the zombies?"

"Because you _don't_ want to be the one holding onto your weight with _my_ feet!" I said, feeling my ankles swell. This was it. I was about to fall, and Naruto was about to be eaten. "I'm sorry, Sasuke..."

The sound of a gunshot.

A head just about to bite Naruto's foot had just had its entire face blown away by a snipper shot. The sound attracted a few number off the to the side, and all of a sudden, I felt my feet give away. But before the next event could occur, another cold hand grabbed onto my other one, saving us. With a desperate look I glanced up, and in the shadows of sunrise, I could see a familiar face up on the wall. Those icy, onyx eyes and his frown.

"Sasuke..."

This was exactly like the river: Me holding Naruto, Sasuke holding me. But the thing that scared me the most, was the fact that it was a gunshot that had saved Naruto's life. And what was there in Sasuke's hand, was a weapon he vowed he would never use. It wasn't that I had the problem with guns. Maybe I did after reminiscing about Itachi back at the toy store, but to see Sasuke with a gun, it was like looking the devil in the eye.

And Sasuke... there was something different about this Sasuke, too.


	5. Paranoia's Civility

**Christmas Eve!**

Happy holidays everyone. I hope everyone's having a good time at this hour. I hate that it's vacation though. Things get boring quickly for me. 

**Nonetheless it gave me reason to actually post up a new chapter!Sorry if it's too long. I meant to cut it up into two chapters but I figured this much is worth after not updating for a whole month. Sorry for any mistakes, my computers's been fuzzy with the whole spellcheck thing. **

**Again - MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

In this Chapter, Naruto and Sakura take into suspicion Sasuke's actions and this new location's apparent 'peace'. Now stuck behind the wall, will hey be able to leave and continue their mission as planned? 

* * *

Continuing from where we last left off, Naruto and I were now safely atop the wall separating the zombies from whatever haven was behind here. The two of us were catching our breath while Sasuke simply watched us with a serious stare.

"About time you showed up, Sasuke," Naruto stated, having not noticed the differences I had. "Of course it wouldn't have hurt you had come a little earlier. Could've saved us the trouble of _ALMOST DYING_."

The raven-haired narrow his eyes. "How do you know my name?" Huh?

Naruto scoffed with a disbelieving chuckle. "Very funny, very funny - I know you hate me and all but seriously, you saved my neck shooting that thing down there. I never knew ya had it in ya," Naruto grinned, punching Sasuke in the arm. But all of a sudden Sasuke drew out his gun one more time, aiming it at the blond. Naruto jumped and backed up into me, who also felt hesitant to be on this side of the gun. Naruto glanced up at me. "Um... Okay just so we're on the same page, I, did, nothing."

"Stop talking," Sasuke's voice said in a cold tone. Naruto instantly went quiet and we both looked at him. "You're outsiders of the shelter, so you're in no condition to speak if you think you're recieving our hospitality."

"What?"Naruto said with a weird twist of his face.

"Sasuke it's us, Naruto and Sakura. Don't you remember?" I said with a pained face, holding onto Naruto's shoulders. We were still held at gunpoint, anywho, and he didn't look like he was putting the weapon down at any point in time. When I noticed Sasuke's expression not change, my green eyes only widened even more. "He really doesn't recognize us..."

"What happened, Sasuke!" shouted a voice from down below, on the 'safe' side of the wall. Looking over to the corner of my eyes I saw an orange haired girl, the same girl from before who was with that Kabuto guy. My stare hardened into one of distaste and hate. Meanwhile the girl's impatient look only irritated me much more as she crossed her arms, trying to look all high and mighty over us. "You know no one's allowed near the wall, let alone _on_ it."

"These two were starting a commotion down there. I came to check it out," Sasuke's voice answered. Just what did they do with him?

The girl looked up at Naruto and me. From the look in her eye I could tell she recognized us. Nothing needed to be said or declared aloud. The two of us glared at one another for what seemed like an eternity, but she kept shut, as did I. Instead she closed her eyes and turned around. "Just bring them down here. Kabuto will kill me if _you_ die over the wall."

This was all only confusing to me. Who were these people that robbed us of our friend and our supplies? Fate can be twisted sometimes, I swear.

Before I knew it, all three of us were off the wall and on the other side, the safer side. At least, I assume it's safe. Now that I was finally not in the face of danger, danger being the zombies, I was able to take in the fact that this side of the city was, actually normal looking, despite the mean red head and the bipolar Uchiha. Not a scratch of blood on anywhere except on Naruto and me from our battle on the van. No zombies were anywhere in range except on the other side of the wall. A few house lights were on, most off due to the 'sleeping hours' of night. It was as if the undead war had never once touched this ground, even though that was a lie. If this was miraculously a good shelter, I wouldn't mind sleeping for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, the girl, who's name was Tayuya according to Sasuke, led us down the road, apparently taking Naruto and me to their 'leader'. I could only assume it was Kabuto. And boy did I want to give him a piece of my mind. In all honesty and respect, minus the respect, I just felt like whacking the guy upside the head with the bat. Do I know that's fatal? Yes. Do I care? Maybe. I'm still a bit of a whimp. But if that all didn't count or matter I'd still take out my anger in any violent way I can. If I could, that is. Like they say, the one who makes the first strike will always be at fault.

"What is this place," Naruto said suspiciously, not liking the idea of a sudden peaceful area just popping out of no where. Bystanders were lined up along the barren streets. Some walking, some children playing. But as we walked, Naruto and I were given stares, as if we were criminals making our way down to a death sentence.

"This district of the city is the only place left in Tokyo that people can move about their lives as normally as before," Tayuya explained coldly, still having much dislike for us. "You two haven't been bitten back there have you?"

"No. Of course not," I glared slightly. But I said nothing else afterwards. As we walked, I snuck glances over at Sasuke. They did something to him, I know it.

"Sasuke," Tayuya announced. "I'll be going over to announce the presence of our guests. Would you mind taking them to their temporary shelter? They could use some cleaning up. They smell like trash to me." I hated how she said the word temporary. And to call us trash after facing a hoard of zombies made me want to rip her throat out. And that's saying something coming from me.

"Whatever," Sasuke said in his same old personality.

As the red-head walked away, I felt myself loose my temper at her and I was about to lunge myself at the woman, only for Naruto to hold me back by the arms. But again, I didn't say a word. Soon enough Sasuke led us down another street. We made it to a normal looking house. It had a small lawn of grass out front with some garbage cans on the sidewalk. It reminded me of the old world. There probably isn't a house as neat looking as this outside that wall.

"This will be where you will be living for now until further notice," Sasuke stated like a prison guard. Naruto walked into the house first, then me. It was the first home I walked into since the whole zombie apocalypse thing started. It made me wander my thoughts over to my old home, wondering if it was still in one piece like I always thought it'd be. Note to self: don't take home for granted.

"Um, roomy," Naruto spoke first, not really able to think of anything else in this situation.

But Sasuke ignored him. "I'll be leaving you now. Don't even think about causing any trouble," Sasuke said, turning around to leave. Not a sign of his metal sword anywhere on him. And I just remembered his bamboo sword still in the van outside the wall, too. "And try not to get too comfortable, either. All of the residents here are _really_ against letting in outsiders. You two are no different."

"You're one to talk," Naruto grumbled as Sasuke disappeared and closed the door. With one more stubborn grunt Naruto turned to face me. "Sakura seriously what was up with him!"

"I don't know," I groaned, going over to the couch. Much better than a bed at the moment. "But as perfect as this place makes itself out to be, I still don't like it. I think I actually miss our dead friends out there outside the wall."

Naruto glanced out the window. Some sunlight was shining past the curtains to show the beginning of the day, and he could see other people outside as if this was any other normal day, whatever normal is supposed to mean anymore. "Can we like, leave? You know, um, _NOW_?"

"Not until we find out what happened to Sasuke," I clarified, rubbing my head. It was still a little sore from when I hit it on the van's tire. "I don't like that Tayuya girl. And that Kabuto guy is still around here somewhere."

"Then that perve from before, too," Naruto recalled, looking at me.

I shuddered. "Don't remind me."

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By mid-afternoon, Naruto and I had spent the day away trying to contemplate a new plan. We had decided the basic idea would be to get Sasuke (whether he liked it or not), get over the wall and to the van with a full tank of gas, and make a run for it and head south for Chiba like we had _initially_ planned. We just got side tracked. A lot.

It was fairly dark outside now. Purple clouds lined the somewhat orange skies, and most of the so called 'civillians' were getting into their homes now. Kind of a creepy apocalyptic setting if you ask me. Naruto and I were in the kitchen, having just had a decent full meal, consisting of microwaveable pork from the fridge and some ramen. Probably the last good meal we'll ever get in a while.

"So explain to me the plan again?" Naruto asked, eating a small bag of chips he found lying around. They were expired, but he wanted to eat them anyway.

"You go around town and try to find Sasuke. Make up something to try and bring him to the wall alone. And when I say alone, I mean it."

"Sasuke alone. Right. And, you?"

I let out a full mouth of air, feeling it blow some of my pink bangs from my forehead. "I'm still just as suspicious about this place as you are, or anyone for that matter. I wanna check things out with the residents. I need to find Kabuto and see what exactly happened."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Okay, so, I get the hot-headed teen with firearms, while you track down the leader of some hypo-psycho syndicate with mercenary-police."

"Pretty much."

The blond pondered over the thought with the same stoic face. "...And I still can't figure out which one of us has the harder job."

Naruto and I had left the house and had gone our separate ways. Naruto should be able to find Sasuke somewhere. He has that weird instinct of finding people at the right times and places. We had left all the lights in the house on as a kind of mediocre distraction, try and make people believe the house wasn't empty. Empty house at night would seem suspicious at a time like this.

I was on my own now. The street lamps were on, illuminating the sidewalks. There was a street just like this back in town. Exactly alike. Same cracks, same sidewalks, houses that all look the same with miniature differences. I could just as easily picture this place being tainted by the atmospheric apocalypse we call today. The air would smell like blood or smoke from crashed cars. These quiet streets would be lined with dead bodies, pale and or not. And crickets. My gosh, it's been a while since I've heard crickets. I've always thought of them as annoying back then, but now they just make everything sound so peaceful.

But then I remembered what I was doing in the first place.

I blew air again. "This whole end-of-the-world thing is really starting to agitate me, now."

"Is that so." My breath caught it self stopping, and I turning around swiftly. Under the last street lamp in the distance was a darkened silhouette, but I could see well enough to know who it was and make out a name."And what's still agitating me is how you and the blondie back there knew my name."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Oh my GOD!" Naruto screamed out. His voice echoed down a street. This 'nice-and-clean' looking neighborhood was really starting to get to him. "How hard is it to find a guy with a head shaped so oddly?" A vein appeared as Naruto shook a silent fist from his pocket. "I swear when I find him I'm gonna-"

"Maya please wait!"

Naruto knew for certain someone had shouted that, and close by too. With quick thought Naruto jumped into the bushes and crawled across a yard through the spiney twigs underneath. The irritation was well worth it though. As he peaked out he saw two people dragging a guy away, probably in his late teens. Twenty maybe? That aside, the poor guy being dragged away was reaching out desperately towards two other people standing at the door of a house. It was a woman, and a little girl around the appearing age of four. Five at most.

"Maya please you have to remember me!" the man shouted, the heels of his shoes being scrapped upon the concrete. "It's me, Aika! We had Rachel together remember! Maya!"

Naruto watched estranged as the guy screaming, probably louder than Naruto ever could, was dragged away into the shadows by the two larger men. Naruto took note that the two men resembled the same guys who robbed him and Sakura of their weapons, and their missing ally. Meanwhile with the two females, Naruto saw the supposed wife's facial expression. Dead and sleepy, almost as if she were hypnotized as well. It was a mix between hospital ill and in a trance.

The little girl tugged on the woman's white sleeve. "Mama, why didn't you go after Papa" she asked desperately. She sounded as if she were about to cry, Naruto commented inside his mind.

The woman didn't respond as quickly as most mothers would, most wanting to _calm_ their children of their worries. Much to Naruto's surprise, she said instead, "Your father, Rachel, has been selected by the town's protectors to become a part of the force." Her tone sounded monotone, controlled. Naruto's blue eyes widened in disbelief. "He shouldn't be so cowardice about the selection."

The little girl Rachel began to tear up. "But Papa will die if he works with the scary men! He'll have to kill people and I don't want Papa to-!" She suddenly stopped upon feeling her mother's slowly turning glance. Fear was instilled in the child, and Naruo felt kind of scared for her. For a little kid, Naruto remarked that she was able to read the expressions of her dead-weight mother extremely well.

"Don't, argue with me Rachel," said the mother. And just as robotically, the lady turned and ushered her daughter back inside the house, closing the door.

Naruto felt his knees tremble from within the bush. Whether it be from the scene he had just witness or from the irritation of kneeling on twigs, Naruto was well affected by what had just occurred. "This is just messed up. They can't just take guys and force them to-" Naruto stopped and processed what he had just thought out loud. Peeking out of the bush he could remember just faintly enough which direction the two men were dragging their hostage.

"Screw finding Sasuke. Sakura's not here to do her job so I might as well do it for her while I'm at the advantage." With a confident grin the Uzumaki leapt from the bush and dashed down the street, another deep thought penetrating his mind. "Still, I wonder where Sasuke's supposed to be."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So you've been here ever since the zombie outbreak started," I stated from what Sasuke told me. We walked down the barely light-lit urban streets, as if this were any normal night in Tokyo. As peaceful as we seemed, I couldn't shake the fact that the gun was still at Sasuke's side in his pocket.

"We heard of the news and before the outbreak could reach here Kabuto had a bunch of the residents build a wall to keep us safe. We've been here ever since, and not _one_ zombie has penetrated this shelter we've made for ourselves."

"I see." So that's what he thinks. Sasuke believes he was one of the residents, he doesn't remember Naruto or me or escaping our high school, he doesn't remember his hate for guns. There's only one explanation. "So this Kabuto guy," I began. "Exactly what kind of person is he? From what I've heard he must be in charge of this whole place."

"He's the guy who crated this place. Seemed fit that he be the one who makes the rules."

"Those rules being...?"

Sasuke seemed to hesitate to answer. I think he was about to, but he restrained himself. "You're still an outsider. I'm not even supposed to be walking with you like this."

"Yet you are," I opposed. "And you say I'm an outsider. That must mean one of the rules are that no outsiders from behind the wall are allowed in without clearance from this Kabuto you speak so highly about." He didn't say anything. "And you carry a gun, something not a lot of the civilians seem to mind from what I've seen when we first got here. Or is it that everyone here is supposed to have some kind of lethal weapon for protection."

"Keep trying all you want. You're not getting anything right."

"But why is it you have weapons in a totally zombie-free shelter? No one's infected. Are you afraid of revolts? Or is it that only a few select of you 'civillians' carry big shot guns like those for other purposes? Like protecting the wall from outsiders like me and Naruto from getting over-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke finally snapped. We had stopped walking, and I was a bit taken back at first. But hey, at least I finally got through to him. "You're a real pest, you know that, pinkie?"

My arms crossed. "Well can you blame me?" I held my head up a bit. "And don't you want to know why Naruto and I knew your name in the first place" Sasuke's facial expression changed. "But I can't tell you that unless you tell _me_ what exactly this whole 'shelter' of yours is about."

After straightening up, Sasuke appeared to be thinking about the proposition. There has to be a reason he doesn't remember anything. "It's true that Kabuto is the head of everything around the shelter, and he does order around a few certain of us to maintain the peace around the wall." He frowned. "The people who live here behind the wall don't know this, but as a part of the force we're supposed to shoot whoever tries to come over the wall, whether they're dead _or_ alive."

At hearing this my eyes widened again, both from disbelief and sheer horror. "You what...?"

Sasuke avoided eye contact and turned his head away. "Normally there's at least one of us at the wall keeping watch. If we see anyone running to the wall, even if they aren't a zombie, we're forced to shoot them in the possibility they could've been bitten."

"But that's not right!" I cried out instinctively. "That's inhumane! It's horrible! You can't-"

"They're our orders," Sasuke interrupted loudly. "Don't tell anyone but I'm against it, too. But I've seen it happen. We kill men, women, elders, even children if they try to cross over to our wall."

"But..." My voice had begun to falter. The image of one of Kabuto's mercenaries shooting a little kid in the middle of his head - it terrified me. "But you let me and Naruto live... Why"

A silent breath was held in from Sasuke's pursed lips as he ran his nervous hand through his hair. "In all honesty I really was supposed to shoot the two of you the minute I saw you move in on your truck. At first I just thought the zombies would take care of you and I wouldn't have to kill you myself. But then I saw you actually fight back and, and actually make it up on the wall. You made it, your friend Naruto made it, and..."

"And what?"

He appeared to be searching his memory. "According to Kabuto, the only exception to let people over the wall is if it's a able-bodied humans that look capable of becoming a part of the force. If it is then we let them over for a twenty-four hour trial period, and if they prove worthy they stay. If not, we kill them. So far it's only happened twice.

"So when it came to Naruto and I you just saved us? Just because you want us to join some group to protect your spoiled little home here?"

"That wasn't the reason I saved you!" Sasuke argued with a rising temper. By the look on my face, he tried to calm down again. "Are you always this interrogative?"

"When I want to be sure," I said back. "So if you didn't save our lives for that purpose then why did you?"

"I... I don't know," he admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I just had this strange feeling telling me not to kill you. And then you went and said my name." Through all his confusion, I couldn't help but feel a tiny spark of hope in me somewhere. Maybe he was remembering all this time? Aside from that, I still needed to find out more. "You never did explain."

"Huh?"

"How you knew my name,"; Sasuke repeated. All I'd done was avoid the question or change the subject on him. But now that I knew he honestly didn't remember, maybe now seemed like a good time to tell him. Would he believe me? "Sakura?"

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Naruto was still sneaking among the shadows, following the two bodyguard-like men drag away this poor soul. You'd have to hand it to him, for a loudmouth like Naruto, he's got a lot of self-restraint to be be able to keep as quiet as he did all this time. But now it was about to all pay off.

"OW!" Kind of.

The two bodybuilders turned heads towards a bush in the corner of their sight. Naruto was inside it, using all of his strength to keep his hands over his mouth. Apparently while he was sneaking about he seemed to have stepped on a supposedly 'sharp' pebble. Sweat dripped from the boy's head, drenching the sides of his face until he began to perspire under his clothing.

However the two men shrugged off the noise and continued on their way, dragging now limp and tired body away.

'_I don't know what's scarier, me almost getting caught, or Sakura beating me to a pulp if I DO get caught._' Once he found the clearing safe he resumed sneaking about in the darkness. As the strangers closed in on their destination, Naruto noticed it was a fairly big house. Not like a mansion or anything, but it seemed pretty high class compared to the other 'normal' houses around this little neighborhood. "Big house. Makes sense it'd be a base of operations."

There were two other goons guarding the door, and as the two musculars walked up with their prisoner-like guest, they were let in, Naruto watching from a distance. Although not the best educational student, he knew his way with deception and stealth. And within a matter of seconds of analyzing the grounds, he found a way to get in without getting caught. "I know I'm supposed to be looking for Sasuke, but heh, like I'm gonna pass this up. Breaking into a palace like that so beats looking for that guy."

Going over a tall black fence behind a tree, Naruto made it onto the property. He stormed around the house to where there were no guards and found a decently high window. He could climb up through the vines against the wall, assuming they were sturdy enough. Being Naruto, he didn't really take them possibly breaking and making him and fall and get caught into consideration.

Luck for him they didn't break.

Landing inside the house with a swift landing onto the red floor, Naruto looked around the dark room. A very much empty dark room. "There has to be a vent somewhere..."However his secluded search came to a halt as he door knob began to make a sound as if someone were coming in. Panicked, Naruto desperate looked for a hiding place, and chose one as mediocre as the curtain. A _transparent_ curtain. Way to go Naruto.

The door opened without warning and in came one of Kabuto's men, holding a very large gun Naruto knew would kill him if he laid a single breath. As dark as the room was, there was enough moonlight outside to bring the gun into high emphasis in Naruto's fears.

But Naruto's been very lucky. As a bonus side to being in a dark room, the man didn't see Naruto behind the transparent window curtains as he blended in with the shadows. As if content with his suspicions, the armed man left the room and closed the door with a click. Once that was over Naruto made a gaging face. Getting used to lethal deathly situations was not supposed to be good for your health, I presume.

"Vent, vent," he mouthed to himself, and soon enough he found one behind a fancy table. Quietly pushing the able out of the way he opened the large vent and crawled in. A mischievous grin was worn upon the blond's face in his supposed victory.

Idiot.

"Now, if I were Kabuto..." It was one thing to go vent-climbing back at school. Naruto actually knew where he was going back then. Now, he was just kind of, winging it as I'd put it. But luck was very much on the blond's side this night for some strange bizarre reason. He heard the familiar cries of that poor kidnapped man and followed the sound.

Before he knew it, Naruto had found a good spying seat from a new vent where down below was a decently lit room, the light emitting from candles. That kidnapped young father was strapped to a chair, scared for his life. Poor guy.

"What the hell...?" Naruto tried to see. There were more people in the room, two of whom he recognized from the first assault earlier on that day. But the one that caught his attention, was a familiar white-haired man wearing glasses.

"W-What do you want with me...?" the man stammered, unable to move from the chair's metal restrains. Kabuto walked up to him, only the sounds of his shoes meeting Naruto's ears. He watched intently, unable to move or breathe. What was Kabuto going to do to him? Kill him? Torture?

Kabuto brought out some kind of pendulum, making Naruto arch his eyebrow. The man still whimpered in cowardice (very explainable cowardice by the way). Just as Naruto kind of expected, the pendulum began to swing back and forth, unable to be adverted by the man's eyes. But it was then Naruto saw the unusualness of the all, the pendulum began to glow a strange green aura. "What the hell's he doing?"

"Listen to me..." Kabuto's voice started, the man no longer struggling. "You have always lived behind these walls as one of us. You live to keep the peace. You live to kill all outsiders. You live, to serve me." Naruto continued to watch in disbelief. And secretly he hoped he wasn't getting hypnotized too for watching. "You will forget all loved ones beyond the wall, and you will kill whoever tries to come across us."

"Yes, master..." the man spoke in a monotoned voice.

Kabuto smirked with a silent sinister chuckle. "And when I say the word, you _will_ kill who I please. Is that understood."

"Yes master..."

Finally, the green glowing pendulum stopped, and te green light emitting from it simmered down. Two other men from behind Kabuto removed the shackles from the man and he was dragged up to his feet. Kabuto made a satisfied smile. "Looks like we got another able-bodied one. Now to test to see his will can't be broken. He snapped his fingers as Naruto heard the sound of more clinking metal, and then the sound of a hungry growl, one belonging to a familiar monster Naruto knew all too well.

Below, a large cage was brought out, inside it one of the captured zombies. You think of one them would be able to escape such a simple barred cage, but Kabuto seemed to have everything under control He's a smart bad guy. What do you expect? "So they do have a zombie here," Naruto whispered.

Kabuto turned to one of his henchmen. "Did you finish your task?"

"Yes sir. We've captured his daughter and have just finished hypnotizing his wife. She does not recall having daughter anymore."

"Excellent,"Kabuto replied. "Bring the kid in here."

"Let go of me!" yelled that shrill little cry. Naruto's eyes widened as he watched two other men come on, holding by the arms the same little girl Naruto saw before, the captured daughter. "Daddy! Daddy help me!"

"Rachel...?" the assumed father said in a short daze.

Kabuto said the next word. "Throw her into the cage."

Naruto's eyes bulged as the men mercilessly opened the cage door and carelessly threw the little girl into the cage. Naruto's sight was narrowed due to watching from behind a vent underneath him, but the screams were all he needed to fill in the blank images in his mind of the child's gruesome death, if that's what you want to call it. Death. He could picture it now as his muscles tensed in petrification. Just like Ino. Her flesh being torn off by the zombie's monstrous teeth. Blood gushing out like a fountain at an enormous rate. And the pain of it all, of just having your father watch.

And it wasn't even your father in a way either.

"DADDY! DADDY!" she cried until she was silenced. Within a matter of seconds, Naruto knew the little girl would turn into one of those zombies.

Kabuto snapped one of his fingers again as he was handed a simple pistol gun. He walked up to his new recruit and handed him the gun. And there, the sound of a higher pitched zombie growl emitted form the cage, and the force of the deceased child's corpse began to bang violently against the metal bars of her prison. Naruto could just barely see her torn dress and quickly paled skin. Her voice was no longer the same humane one he had heard only seconds ago.

"These undead, they are a threat to our Utopian society," Kabuto whispered into the man's ear. "Finish off your daughter for me, will you? To get rid of a zombie, you must blow off their head for a permanent demise." He patted the man's back before the man walked up to the cafe from a safe distance. "_Kill her_." Naruto's eyes refused to blink as a gunshot went off, and the little girl's growls had silenced, forever. The other zombie could still be heard thrashing from behind, eating the little girl's dismembered remains from when she was alive, but that was it.

Kabuto clapped. "Well done."

"I've gotta get out of here," Naruto muttered, crawling back from where he came from. Forget being quiet, he just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible before anyone could find him, and possibly do the same thing to him. "He's got every one of his goons hypnotized. Even Sasuke. That's why he didn't remember us, dammit." Naruto's eyes narrowed, still shaken up from the gruesome scene he had just witnessed. "I need to find Sakura, fast, before anyone else gets to her." The nightmareish fantasy of his dear friend getting kidnapped as well only made him crawl faster and faster. '_SAKURAAAAA!_'

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"No way," Sasuke frowned at me.

"Hey you wanted the truth. I just gave it to you. Whether you trust my word or not me is not my problem." It was still late at night, and I've been talking with Sasuke nonstop. Peace. I'm gonna savor it as much as I can.

We were currently sitting down on a curb under a lit post lamp. After Sasuke's explanation for me, I told him how Naruto and I knew his name. How we all gre up together, our high school lives, how we escaped together with our lives. As glad as I was to explain it all to him, I was still sad inside that he couldn't remember any of it for whatever reason.

I hugged my knees and looked at him, trying ot read his face. "You don't believe me?"

"I want to," he replied after a while. "It's just kind of strange and so, out of the blue." Sasuke reaching into his pocket and pulled out a gun. I flinched at it's sight. It's not really the gun that scared me. It's Sasuke holding the gun that makes me sad. "If anything, I do trust you."

I smiled a little. "Then that's all I ask for."

Sasuke kept his face. "Then I must ask that you trust me and you take Naruto and get out of this place."

"Huh?"

"It's not safe here for you guys," Sasuke said, getting up to his feet. "Peaceful or not, the both of you will most likely get killed of if Kabuto says so. I can sneak you guys out over the wall when it's my shift."

"Come with us then."

"I can't."

"Why not," I asserted, standing up too and dusting off my long skirt. I'm up for a good argument. "Just admit it. You hate it here too. Come with Naruto and me and we can continue where we all left off looking for everyone."

Sasuke starred at me with a hesitant look. I could understand his behalf. Can't remember us, thinks he's supposed to belong here. I'm going to kill Kabuto when I see him-

"Wait, Kabuto," I spoke aloud. "I was supposed to-"

"SAKURAAAA!" Naruto's shrill voice yelled. Sasuke and I turned around, seeing him sprinting up to us a block away. The sheer look of terror on his face was enough to send anyone hiding. I made a face at him, wondering what he's done now. "SAKURAAAAA~!"

"Okay now I can understand why you wouldn't want to come with us," I said with a face.

"Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto said out of breath, running up to me with his hands on my shoulders. I tried to keep him steady and from falling over.

"Hey hey breathe. Don't collapse on me sheesh," I said kind of surprised. "What happened to you? Where'd you go?"

"Well apparently I was _supposed_ to be looking for Sasuke and _you_ were supposed to find Kabuto. But it seems we kind of switched jobs," Naruto said, noticing Sasuke behind my shoulder.

"So you found Kabuto?"

"Yeah and I found more than my fair share of horror in a life time. Let's leave! NOW!" he emphasized, shaking my shoulders.

"Calm down Naruto! Gosh what's gotten into you?"

"He's hypnotizing people, Sakura," Naruto said, kind of gaining some of his old composure (not really). "He's hypnotizing the civilians and manipulating everythiing into living together. He's turned a bunch of guys he works for into killing machines with his green glowy-coin thingy and-"

I covered his mouth. (Remind me to wash my hands later). "Sush."

"Sakura I am SERIOUS!" he yelled out loudly after throwing my arm off. He looked up at Sasuke, too. "I bet Kabuto had Sasuke hypnotized, too! That's why he can't remember us!"

"Hyptonism," I repeated, looking over at the look in his eyes, he was wondering the same as us.

A familiar clapping sound could be heard in the background, and Naruto jumped, turning around and seeing Kabuto walk up under the spotlight of a street post lamp. Finally his clapping desisted and we were all in full view of each other. "You're very smart children, you know?"

"That's a new compliment," Naruto muttered, remembering this man's ruthless actions before. Sasuke walked up and past Naruto and me, me holding onto Naruto who was on the verge right now of falling over.

"Stay away from these two," Sasuke said sternly, protecting us. "I don't know what exactly you're doing here Kabuto but don't involve them in this."

"Aw, you still care for your friends. Cute," Kabuto said bittersweet and loosing his sadistic smile. "I guess the blabber mouth's revealed most of it to you guys. We hypnotize the civilians, make them believe the world can still be a wonderful place from that hell outside." He chuckled and I held Naruto protectively. "Erasure of memories can be such a handy thing sometimes. But," he frowned at Sasuke. "It seems you, Sasuke, have been very troublesome to keep in tact somehow. Although, you're too much of a good asset to just let go. A good aim, a swordsman, and very young at that." Kabuto glanced over to us. "Perhaps it's time I test _your_ will power over my hold this time. Never did try it before. Now seems like a much more interesting time." Kabuto pushed up his glasses so the light reflected off them. "Patience has such great rewards."

Naruto glared as we both stood up. "Don't you dare try and do anything to Sasuke, you bastard!"

"Weren't you listening, you dumb rat? I have no intention in harming Sasuke." I felt a bad vibe go through me. "It's you two I have no problem with killing. Our eyes widened. "Sasuke, kill them."

"He's not going to listen to you anymore, Kabuto!" I shouted out, stepping forward. However Naruto held me back by my shoulders. I was about to say something to him but I saw the same instilled fear on his face from before when he ran into us.

"Hold on, Sakura," Naruto said with a steady, held back breathre. "Kabuto had Sasuke hypnotized from the very beginning. He's going to have full intention to kill us without even knowing."

"W-What...?" But it all became clear after Sasuke turned around. I looked at his eyes, and I saw a strange emptiness in them. And somehow, I was able to comprehend everything Naruto had told me. "Sasuke?"

With a dead look in his eye Sasuke took out his gun again, pointing it at us and ready to shoot me.

"NO!" Naruto jumped and quickly reprimanded Sasuke, managing to make him drop the gun as it skidded across the street. However I watched Sasuke flip Naruto over as he collided with the concrete painfully.

"Naruto!" I said, unable to move. Even without the gun, Kabuto suddenly brought out Sasuke's metal sword from behind, throwing it to Sasuke who caught it with an illusioned ease. "Oh man..."

"Sakura watch out" Naruto threw at me a cover of a garbage can and as Sasuke ran at me, I was able to block his attack. He continued to try and attack me as I tried my best to block each one. One stab from that sword and I'm done for. "Sasuke snap out of it! You're being controlled by Kabuto you have to listen to me!" The clashes of metal only seemed to phase over everything else I just spoke, whether Sasuke managed to hear me or not.

With a sneaky blow Sasuke managed to get my makeshift shield out of my grasp and held his sword's point across at my neck. However before he could deliver the finishing blow, Naruto came to my rescue (how ironic).

"YOU TEME!" his voice echoed. The next thing I knew, Sasuke was tackled out of his stance by Naruto riding on a little girl's bicycle, pink horn and basket and all. I blinked for a second before remembering my current problem. Sasuke dropped his sword as Naruto rolled over the concrete with Sasuke. The two managed to land a punch or kick to each other before getting up and assuming a fighting stance. Naruto seemed more pumped than ever to fight Sasuke, even if he was hypnotized. "You ready to get your butt kicked, Uchiha! Because I am so gonna beat you into a-!"

Sasuke landed a punch square in the jaw at Naruto, and he flew across the air over the street. I watched him fly by me, and in the slow motion portion of him glancing at me, I wore an exasperated face saying '_way to mess up, dude_.'

Naruto crashed into some garbage cans, knocking them over. Either way he managed to get up with a red vein over his head and a big temper overflowing. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING I AM SO GONNA KICK YOUR ASS WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER YOU HEAR ME!"

Sasuke wasted no time in getting is sword and making his way over to Naruto, unable to get up from the crash he had just endured. And through it all, Kabuto was just watching, amused by this whole show he had put together. Heartlessly Sasuke raised the sword over Naruto's shadow, ready to shed blood.

"Hey Sasuke," I called lowly.

Sasuke halted his attack and turned around to see what caught his attention. And somewhat to his surprise he saw me a fair distance away, holding the gun he had dropped at the beginning of the fight. I held it in my hands, the finger at the trigger at my sides. A plain stoic look remained on my face, showing no emotion whatsoever.

For the first time during the whole fight, Sasuke made a small laugh, the same Kabuto would make. "What. Just because you're holding a gun to me you think you can kill me or prevent me rom killing Naruto."

"You hated guns, Sasuke."

"Well I'm not exactly in the right mind now am I," he said with a sinister smirk. The more I looked at him, the more my hatred for Kabuto burned.

"Wake _up_ Sasuke! Or I shoot it I'll promise!"

"Sakura..." Naruto said warily. He knew when I taunted with words, he knew I was always serious and never bluffing.

"Kill them, kill them now!" Kabuto commanded. And with that Sasuke, full of lust for power, began to run at me with his sword. As everything became mute, I could see Naruto yell my name through his mouth, Kabuto smirking with satisfaction, and a face I found unrecognizable on Sasuke.

I made a small smile. "You leave me no choice, Sasuke."

And with that the sound of the gunshot went off. Kabuto rose his head, and Naruto's eyes widened in mortification. Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks and his grip on his sword loosened until it dropped a second time. The sound of the metal clinking with the ground overshadowed the clash the gun made when it collided with the floor a few seconds later.

As Sasuke's eyes returned to normal, their deadness seemed to have transferred to me. My sight became dizzy as my breathing became lower and my body collapsed on me.

"SAKURA!"

Blood gushed out of my left forearm near my shoulder as I fell to my knees. Sasuke stood and stared blankly at me, Naruto still struggling to get out of the garbage pile. When he did, he almost stumbled as he went to run to my bloody limp figure. "Sakura!" Naruto screamed, running past Sasuke who remained still. Naruto dropped beside me as blood poured from my arm and Naruto tried to stop it. He picked up my upper torso, my face scrunched in pain. "And you call me the idiot. What the hell did you think you were going to accomplish shooting yourself!"

"Look... at Sasuke..." I breathed faintly. Naruto hesitantly looked up at his once comrade but was surprised to find him snapped out of his old daze, and no sucked into a new one. Sasuke realized his reality now and closed his eyes, bending down to pick up his sword. Once he grabbed hold of its handle, he reopened his eyes with a deadly look intended for Kabuto, who still remained in the same spot as before.

"You," Sasuke said in a deathly tone, turning his body around. Witnessing one of his closest friends get shot was able to snap him out of the hypnotism. Sasuke could remember me, he could remember Naruto, everything. And now, he remembered his duty of vengeance, for the cause of all the pain we just had to go through. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!"

Sasuke ran at Kabuto with his single sword, Kabuto easily dodging each of his blows without burden. "What I did? You were the one who made Sakura shoot herself.

"Shut up!" Sasuke had managed to cut off a slip of Kabuto's side bangs. It wasn't long until Sasuke had lost enough energy that Kabuto got further away.

"Hey Sasuke, we need to get out of here, now!" Naruto called, standing up with me in his arms. The gun was packed away safely in his pocket. It was one of our only pistol weapons now if we manage to escape this hypocritical shelter they want to call a utopia.

Sasuke glared once more at Kabuto before running off with Naruto. Kabuto stayed put where he was, a satisfied look on his face. "You'll be back."

Naruto and Sasuke ran down the empty streets in the direction of the wall on the other side of the neighborhood. I tried to keep consciousness, holding my arm to prevent any more blood loss. But seeing Sasuke back with us, it seemed worth it. Man, I just shot myself for a guy. How teenagerish does that sound.

"Sasuke, there's our bat and kicket stick there on the front lawn," Naruto alerted as we neared our 'temporary house'. Goodbye decent living. As we ran past it Sasuke swiped the old vintage weapons from the ground, holding all three of what belong to us now.

"There's the wall," Sasuke saw. "Quick, there's a side staircase to the top over there." The sound of an alarm started to ring through the entire neighborhood. Most likely Kabuto's doing.

"Shit, they know we're running," Naruto cursed, keeping a better grip on me. "Before we know it more of that guy's goons will be after us."

"It's worse," Sasuke corrected. "He's not using the alarm to alert his henchmen to get us. Kabuto know's we're trying to leave over the wall. He's using the volume of the alarm to attract zombies towards the wall."

Naruto sneered. "That little..."

"We have to hurry," I spoke for the first time in a while. My voice my strained, still in pain from the gunshot wound. It pained them to see my face like that. "If we can make it to the van... We can have a chance at escaping."

"The van, that's right," Naruto remembered with a grin. "Sakura you're a genius!"

They managed to get to the top of the wall, seeing a crowd of the undead already at the horizon, slowly making their way. "Genius-ideas get you no where unless you act." The van was off in a clearing at the distance. It'd take a good run to get to it before the zombies would. "Come on, we need to get down from here."

Naruto made a face."And how do you propose we do that? We're up like four stories and there's no fire-station blankie at the bottom for us to bounce off of in case you haven't noticed."

Sasuke glared at the blond. "I'm really beginning to wonder how I managed to work with you all this time."

"Guys focus," I strained once more. Their bickering silenced at my word. "Over there, by the stores, both of you bounce off the cloths and towards the ground..." Ugh, stupid pain. "Then... then get to the van and Naruto start it up. Sasuke you protect him. I want you guys to leave me up here until you can manage to drive the van over here."

"And?" Sasuke said with a face. This plan made no sense to him at the moment.

"When you drive up to the wall, I'll jump from here okay?"

"She's crazy," Naruto muttered.

"I'm serious! You guys can't get off this wall lugging me around the whole way. Just do what I say got it?"

"We're not leaving you up here so you can _jump,_" Sasuke asserted.

"Hello I shot my arm, not my leg. I'll be fine on my own up here."

"And the jump-to-your-death part?" Naruto reminded.

"I can make it," I said, not glancing down. If I did I might loose the nerve in this plan.

"That's a horrible lie," Sasuke remarked.

"Just do it! Those dead-beats are coming closer and then we'll all be done for," I said, looking across and seeing them closer. If I'm right they're about ten feet away from the van, but with sheer luck Naruto and Sasuke might be able to run all the way across the lot and beat them to the van.

Naruto let out a breath which I could feel. "Fine. But I'm so hating doing this."

"I'll be fine."

"No I mean I hate working with this guy over here!" Naruto snapped, pointing an arm at the stoic Sasuke. I rolled my eyes.

After setting me down on the narrow wall both of the boys ran across it and jumped down towards the store clothes, landing decently on the ground. Givng Naruto the bat Sasuke began to work his magic with his sword and an extra hockey stick. Any zombies that came close to them Sasuke fought them off until Naruto made it into the van through the left-open ceiling. Sasuke and Naruto jumped in and closed it, sealing the two inside.

I licked my lips, holding my arm tighter. I hope there's some bandages inside the van somewhere. "Please be alright you guys..."

"Dammit what's taking so long!" Sasuke said with a face, seeing the zombies trying to get in past the glass windows. He was quite surprised they windows didn't break yet after all this time.

"Hey I'm tryin alright? This jumk has less than a gallon of gas left and I can't drive. You can't blame me for needing time. Just give me ten seconds."

A hand broke through one of the back windows, Sasuke barely able to keep it out. "Make that one."

Naruto turned the key, a victorious laugh coming from him. "HA HA! GOT IT!" With the ignition started the engine began to run, and Naruto sped off, shaking off a good number of the zombies from the back. Sasuke had fallen over a bit in the back of the van, but he got back up seeing Naruto driving towards the wall. Hitting the breaks the van spun to a halt, Sasuke bursting out of the back door and looking up.

I looked down the long way, finally realizing how out of retrospect my idea really was on my behalf. I gulped, seeing Sasuke waiting down there for me.

"Hurry up and get her already, Naruto said from the front seat impatiently. Car or no car the zombies were still coming towards them from across the dead-end lot. At most they had three minutes. Maybe one.

"Sakura come on!" Sasuke called.

By now the gunshot wound was the least of my worries. "Sakura you idiot," I muttered, my legs dangling off the edge of the wall from where I sat. I closed my eyes and pushed myself off, feeling my body falling dozens of feet down. '_I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm gonna die my gosh I'm sorry I'm gonna die!_'

The next thing I felt was the painful collision with Sasuke and the ground. It was hard to distinguish both. Sasuke had caught me but the impact caused us both to crash down. Nonetheless we were both alright, decently anyway.

"Guys hurry up!~" Naruto called, honking the horn.

"You dolt, honking the horn's just getting them closer to here," I shouted from the concrete in Sasuke's arms.

"Yeah but it motivates you both to get the hell in the van!" Sasuke suddenly scooped me up and stood to his feet. He jumped in through the back of the black van as as soon as the doors were shut, Naruto pressed the gas pedal and we sped towards the incoming crowd of zombies.

"I can't look," I said, still phased from the far jump. Where we sat in the back Sasuke held me securly in his arms and between his legs.

Naruto grinned viciously. "HOLD ON TIGHT!" Suddenly driving towards an abandoned truck ramp Naruto sped up on it and we flew off. I kept my head buried in Sasuke's chest with his head over my hair. As soon as the van hit the ground again, probably crushing some zombies meanwhile, Naruto managed to find a clearing in the road as we dashed off to leave the night-time city of Tokyo.

With us out of the coast of danger, Sasuke growled and looked up to the driver's seat at the front of the van. "Are you _trying_ to kill us?"

"I don't know. We're _you_?" Naruto remarked, referring back to the last fight behind the wall. Either way Naruto returned his eyes to the road, making another turn, thankfully not so sudden this time. "How's Sakura?"

Sasuke looked down, seeing my eyes closed. he could feel my steady healthy breathing, my grip on my bloodied arm still tight though. It had come to stain Sasuke's shirt as well, but he didn't mind. "She's asleep now."

"Thank heavens," Naruto sighed, driving easily now. "... Still, I'm glad you're back." Naruto pasued a second. "Sakura was real worried about you when you went missing."

Sasuke remained silent, still holding on to me to make sure I didn't thrash around the back of the van in case of Naruto's careless driving. "Hn."

Naruto smirked a little, looking up at the rear-view mirror. "Oh, I almost forgot." With one of is arms Naruto reached to the back of the front seats and pulled out a seethed wooden bamboo sword that Sasuke had used in the beginning of it all. He tossed it over his seat and it landed on the metal floor of the van in front of Sasuke. "This belongs to you doesn't it?"

"You guys still kept it?" Sasuke asked, caught off guard at its sight.

Naruto chuckled. "Guess all those years of you and Sakura cheating at hide-and-seek finally paid off in our favor huh?" Sasuke again remained silent, looking down at the pink head underneath him. "Keep a good hold on Sakura. We don't have much gas left so I'm gonna be speeding all around the place looking for a gas station."

"...Hn." With that the van sped off down the destroyed streets of Tokyo well into the night. Hey, in a way, it kind of was still a peaceful night despite being outside the walls. And now, they were to continue with the mission of looking for certain survivors.


	6. Normalcy's Suspicion

Along the endless streets alone our black van was the only one visible.

Sakura's mental log: Naruto, Sasuke and I are currently on our way to the city of Chiba. We're closing in on it so it won't be long. We currently seem to be at peace on this long drive. At our last stop we managed to get enough gas and some extra for our long drive. Naruto and Sasuke still won't let me at te front seat. In all honesty I think I'm okay with that. After what we've all been through involving this hunk of junk, driving seems like a death sentence.

"Hey..." Naruto's voice lingered for a moment from the back of the van. Sasuke and I were sitting up at the front, Sasuke driving. "How much longer until we get there...?"

"It shouldn't be too long, Naruto," I said, leaning my elbow against the vehicle's door. My injured arm was much better now by the way, surprisingly.

"That's what you said an hour ago," Naruto continued to whine. I didn't even give him a response to that for a while. Yes it's true that we've been driving for a long while, and yes it's quite boring. Actually it's ABSOLUTELY boring. But in all honesty I think the only reason we've taken so long was because of our inability to read a map right. All the directions and turns, it was all so confusing. I felt like lost tourists. "Give me something to do," he said.

"No."

"Come on Sakura be fun. We can play a game."

"What possible game is there to play at a time like this," I stated monotone, starring out the window. "This isn't some ordinary road trip in case you've forgotten."

"Like I could forget," Naruto muttered, leaning his elbows on the back of our seats. "So remind me, where're we heading for again? In the midst of all the enforced silence I've lost track of what we were doing."

"We're headed for Chiba, for Shikamaru," Sasuke recited.

"Shikamaru," he repeated, putting up a finger under his chin. "I remember that guy." He scoffed. "What a pain in the ass he used to be, always ratting me out and stuff."

"It was either rat you out or the whole class getting in trouble," I said with a suddenly aggressive look. It was then I started to recall our days in elementary school. With Naruto constantly pulling pranks, Shikamaru was one of the only few people who were blunt enough to say it to an authority figure.

Naruto apparently was recalling the same thing, with much more anxiousness. "Just wait till I get my hands on that guy! I'll show him just what he's missed out on, leaving Tokyo to avoid my wrath!"

"I think think he more or less left to avoid your annoying personally than your wrath," remarked Sasuke, earning me a small smirk as Naruto reacted in his own way.

"DO YOU WANNA FIGHT, UCHIHA!"

"Yes, pick a fight with the guy driving. What, do you expect this thing to drive itself?"

Guess my face. "Oh brother..."

Naruto looked just about ready to burst, naturally. He's been keeping all that temper bottled up inside this whole time. Would you believe me if I said ever since we left the wall Naruto's voice volume has been kept down to a level of three out of ten? Well, until now anyway. Naruto and Sasuke looked just about ready to really have more than just an argument.

"Can you guys please get along for now? The whole ride's been just about a little more over half in peacefulness and I'd really like it if you two didn't ruin that," I commented, starting to get a headache. "Just be happy there aren't any zombies around."

All of a sudden I noticed Sasuke's attention advert. "Don't speak so soon," he spoke up, causing Naruto and I to look up ahead. On the horizon line was the looks of a city, one not in such great condition either. "No doubt there are some dead ones here, too."

Some smoke emitted from one of the tall buildings. I heard Naruto gulp. "I'm starting to wonder if being bored is better than being scared out of your mind in our position." Sasuke sped up towards Chiba. On the city line were a couple buildings along the road. All abandoned at most, barely any signs of life, or, uh, the opposite of that, whatever that happens to be anymore. Sasuke's driving slowed its speed, careful to make sure our noise wouldn't attract any unwanted guests.

"Chiba," I announced under my breath, keeping a short distance from the window. It'd only be a matter of time before a zombie would pop right up and try to scare the living daylights out of me. "So this is where Shikamaru lives."

"How much longer do you think until the zombies show up?" asked Sasuke.

"Won't be long now. We're almost inside the city."

"H-Hey guys..." Naruto started to whimper, making me turn my head and expect something totally unnecessary. "You think we can pull over for a minute?"

What? "Um, Naruto, in case you haven't noticed, our goal is to _live_, not lower our chances of just that."

"_But I really need to go_," he begged, suddenly at our mercy.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sasuke glared.

I let out a sigh. Can't get past Naruto when he's like this. To avoid his persistence, I just decided to side with him. "Just pull up over there, Sasuke."

"What?"

I put on my most straight face for him. "It's either he goes in there or in here. Do you really wanna argue right now?"

Sensing Sasuke's annoyance quickly rising, he put it aside with an exhale of his breath and swiftly turned the wheel towards the closest building. It was like one of those pit stops for tourists I used to see. Who knew the next time I'd see one it'd be a life or death kind of stop.

We exited the van with our weapons, Naruto coming out in the most awkward position with his hockey stick under his arm. Once we made sure the coast was clear, we dashed inside. It was a rather modern building, but completely hollow of people inside. The restrooms were down a small hall across the room. "You better make this quick," I warned, holding my bat ready. "You never know what could be in here."

"Believe me, I don't wanna waste any time either," Naruto said, rushing away for the boys bathroom.

I sighed. "The things we do for that guy."

"You think we should've told him he went into the girls rest room, though?" Sasuke suggested with that rare smirk. Realizing Naruto's mistake I also let out a small smile before it became a laugh. Taking our own little break Sasuke and I looked around the small lobby. It was what it was, just a small rest stop for travelers so it wasn't anything special or roomy. I began to wonder if there really weren't any zombies around.

As I walked, I found one of those shelves with all the pamphlets all filed up for advertisement. A couple were on the floor under my foot where I just stepped. Stepping back to pick them up, a sudden memory came through my mind.

__

It was the second grade school field trip. All of us had gone, me, Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Kiba, Neji, and Shikamaru, along with the rest of the class. This was my first time this far away from home, so everything took my interest, even the pit stop the school bus took.

"How shiny..."

_"You're interested in a place like this?" Sasuke asked me. "Weirdo."_

_"Hey don't tease me. I've never been to these kinds of things before." Counters, strangers, families, food, it was like another home where you could live for a couple minutes before leaving again. It was then I found a wood and glass shelf, holding dozens of dozens of pamphlets. All the fascinating pictures took me by surprise, and all I could do was stare and grin. "Wow...!"_

_"Now what're you doing?" called a voice. Up came next to me was Shikamaru, looking up at the pamphlets too. "The guys are all wondering what's up with you acting like an airhead around here."_

_I turned to him and frowned. "You're real blunt you know that?"_

_"So I've heard," said Shikamaru, keeping his stare up. "I don't know what you find so interesting about these things. They're just a bunch of fake pictures."_

_"But they're still real amazing," I defended, forgetting his last comment. "I don't care if you think they're fake, I wanna see them all one day! Every single place!"_

_Shikamaru just starred at me ridiculously. "Heh, that's an idea. Like parents have the money to travel to all those places. The only possible way you could visit all of them is if you run away."_

_"Then I'll run away if I have to! And when I come back to give everyone a souvenir, I won't get you one!" I shouted confidently, although it was only a tease._

_Shikamaru could tell. "Like you have the guts to actually run away."_

_My eyes furrowed as I realized he was telling the truth. "I know." I turned my head slightly again. "But you would, wouldn't you Shikamaru?" He went to look at me. "You have the guts to do something like that, right?"_

_It took him a while to answer me. "It's not really that I need the guts. Anyone has that. I guess what you really need is... the motivation."_

_"Motivation huh...?" With that, I walked up to the shelf that I could reach and took out one of the pamphlets, holding it up in front of Shikamaru with a large grin. "Then I'll get motivation!"_

_"You don't even know what it is," he scoffed with a sweatdrop._

_"So? I'll travel to all these places just you watch, Shikamaru Nara!"_

The somewhat nice memory still haunted me at this moment, for it was like it was something that only could be remembered if triggered. And for that I was glad. "Mm..." I smiled down at this pamphlet, reminiscing. Sure I know I'll never be able to visit every single place in Japan, but I definitely have motivation for something now. Sasuke startled me by walking up from behind, and I let out a short gasp.

"Now what are you doing," he said hoving above me.

"Just nothing." I set the pamphlet down, standing myself back up. "You think Shikamaru will really be in Chiba?"

"It's where he should be, but I'm not expecting anything."

I faced Sasuke, trying to look him in the eyes. "So you're going with that 'if I don't expect much then I won't get hurt' theory."

"That's not it at all."

"Sure it isn't." I walked further along the walls of the lobby, holding my hands on my bat behind my back. "But in a way I'm kinda going by it, too." I could feel his eyes as I kept walking, slower and slower gazing upon the blank walls. "When I think of all of the old gang I can only think of little kids. I can't imagine us all grown up like this."

"It's what happens isn't it?"

"Yeah but not in this particular way," I said, motioning to my bat. I walked over behind the counter, putting my bat and elbows on it's cold surface. "I can still remember when I first met Shikamaru, you know... Ino and I always referred to him as a lazy bum. Heh, mostly Ino, though, now that I think about it." Sasuke came up on the other side of the counter across from me. "During Pre-k Ms. Koza put me at the time out table for messing with the blocks during recess. Then that's where I found Shikamaru sleeping."

"You met him during a time-out," he rephrased.

"Don't laugh." I could already see the forming chuckle Sasuke was about to make. "I swear, every time I got a time out Shikamaru was always there. He always got in trouble for sleeping didn't he. Kinda makes Naruto look like an angel actually."

"Let's not go that far," Sasuke said with a disbelieving look. That was funny.

"He was real smart too I think," I continued, trying to remember more about our old days. "But if that's the case how come I remember him always getting bad grades?"

"Just find out for yourself if we find him," Sasuke shrugged, but my eyes seemed to narrow down after he said 'if'. But hey, he's right. It is an 'If'.

Meanwhile I remembered Naruto, who still wasn't back yet. What a guy. I looked towards where the bathroom doors were and saw no signs of movement. "That idiot. How much longer is he going to-" It was then I heard a sound, like a footstep. My attention darted towards the opposite side of the room, where another hallway was located.

"Sakura what-"

"Shh," I warned, covering his mouth suddenly. "Listen." With both of us focusing on that one space, the expected sound came about again, along with the sound of moans coming from outside. We saw a good number of them coming towards the rest stop. "Shoot, they caught us."

"Well it was only a matter of time right?" Sasuke said with that slight smirk of his, preparing both his swords. From the hall came a living-dead business lady, clothes tattered and bloodied. A vicious bite mark was present on her ankle where a high-heeled shoe appeared to be missing. As quickly as she appeared, Sasuke took her out, decapitating her swift and quickly. "Hurry and get Naruto. I'll clear our way to the van."

"All alone?"

"Just go!"

Without further questioning we split up. Sure it wasn't exactly a very long distance but leaving Sasuke to face about a dozen zombies alone outside wasn't the most comforting idea for me. Believe me I have the utmost confidence in that guy but you can't blame me for worrying.

"Naruto hurry it up! We're getting out of here!" I yelled, banging on the girls bathroom door. However another scare set me off as the door burst open, Naruto wrestling with a dead zombified girl. My screech halted as soon as my senses came and by instinct, I hammered my bat down on the girl's head before she could bite the struggling Naruto. The scarce blood splatter and the sound of a dead cracking skull will never be able to ease my mind, no matter how many times I hear it.

"Thanks," breathed Naruto in relief.

"Thank me later. Now come on we're leaving." Taking Naruto with me, we hurried off out of the lobby and outside to the parking lot. There Sasuke was holding his own with the other zombies defending the van. I could tell he was relieved when he saw us finally come out, but he refused to show any sign of relaxation.

"About time you got here!" he yelled, doing another move and eliminating two zombies from this world.

We hurried to the van by fighting out some of the zombies. Thankfully there weren't too many this time and we managed to get inside the van. Naruto being the one in the driver's seat started up the thing and hit the pedal, speeding off in our original direction. Sasuke and I in the back of the van caught our breath, Naruto doing somewhat the same from the front. "Worst pit stop ever," he remarked.

Sasuke sent a glare at the blond like none you've ever seen before. Geez Uzamaki you're the one who wanted the pit stop in the first place. "Just shut up if you know what's good for you, got that?" warned Sasuke. We kind of remained at truce for the rest of the short lived ride into the city, where it would probably be more populated with zombies than that rest stop. (Joy) Guess an eternity just sitting in a seat can take a toll on you in this world after all.

As Naruto drove, surprisingly just as carefully as Sasuke had previously, we kept watch for any zombies in all directions. "So where exactly are we supposed to go?" asked Naruto.

"Shikamaru's place shouldn't be too far from here. Go down the next right." As Sasuke gave directions, I waited anxiously from where I sat, trying to clean some of the dust off my long school skirt. Honestly the anxiety of the situation was starting to get to me a little. Not really the whole almost-killed by zombie moment just a little while ago. Just, seeing an old friend and not knowing whether he's a alive or not... Hm, sounded a lot less stressful an hour ago.

Luckily heading down the residential street, there was barely a number of dead faces around. Stopping the vehicle Naruto got out of the front seat and smashed the head of a zombie walking up. Just one. Sasuke and I got out the back of the van with out selected weapons and I looked up to the house we stopped in front of. "So this is the place?" I asked Sasuke as we met up with Naruto on the other side of the van.

Sasuke took one good look at the building. "Should be." It was a small, plain, blue house. Normally it wasn't particularly anything special, but when the entire street has green lawns tainted in blood and bigger fancy houses with broken windows and doors, this simple looking one stands out like a sore thumb it's not even funny. Its small white picket fences and untouched green grass enticed me somewhat but drew me away the same time. "Does no one else find the nice-looking house kind of... weird?"

Naruto swing his hockey stick over his shoulder. "It's always gonna be weird. Now step aside and let a _real _man step up to the suspicious looking nice house."

"Yes Naruto, protect us," Sasuke added on sarcastically.

Naruto tried to ignore the Uchiha, but the scrunched up look on his face shone otherwise. As he grumbled, walking up to the property's walkway, I noticed a small shine towards the ground, like an almost invisible string. I know this - it's some kind of old-fashioned trap thingy that an inconspicuous idiot is supposed to set off. "Naruto wait!"

He turned his head around, having already stepped on the string. "Eh?" I half expected for nothing to happen since it seemed real unlikely for that to be an actual trap, but all of a sudden from a nearby tree growing on the lawn, a couple of knives swung out from under the tree's branch and Naruto seemed to freeze up on the spot. My nerves turned cold and Sasuke's eyes widened somewhat from either surprise or curiosity as to what was going to happen to Naruto next. Hopefully the first one.

Sweat dropped from Naruto's head. "Oh crap."

"Duck!" I yelled, pushing Naruto down on the cement walk way as the projectile knives shot towards him. They would've gotten him to had we not hit the ground. Sasuke dodged some as well, but he wasn't directly in the line of fire as Naruto and I were. "Kitchen knives," he realized, seeing them at his feet.

Opening my eyes, I picked my head up from the ground. You know it hurts a lot less then people make it sound. But that agonizing feel was fulfilled when I noticed Naruto's fallen arm resting on a second invisible string, probably about to set off another trap. He noticed, too. "You've gotta be kidding me," I muttered.

From inside the picket fence, each white board of wood suddenly flipped a part near each tip which looked like some kind of machine, like an eye-piece of a microscope from school.

Sasuke was the first to notice what they really were when a wiring sound came buzzing from each of the strange small machines. Quickly thinking, he ran onto the property and grabbed Naruto and me by the backs of our school shirts and jumped, getting us out of the way just in time for the supposed fence to start firing non-stop like machine guns. Sasuke had gotten us into the safety behind the tree where the gun-firing-fence couldn't get us, yet. This tree wouldn't collapse from over twenty mini machine guns firring at it right?

While the three of us tried to catch our breath, we had realized that below our feet were stepping stones which were used as activation buttions for yet _another _trap waiting to happen. And we just, set them off too. "Told ya nice houses weren't good news," said Naruto.

Along with the heat-seeking gun fence, A wiring sound came from the tree we were under and by instinct the three of us jumped away from it just as large metal spikes came out of the wood of the tree. Heck I don't think that's even a real tree anymore. To think that those giant spikes could've went into my back, I didn't even want to picture. But when the three of us had jumped away from the 'tree', all three of us tripped over a longer line of invisible strings, landing hard on the ground.

I expected the worst this time and I got it. On all parts of the yard that were grass, tall black iron spike rods shot up from the soil, like from those scary haunted mansions with those scary-looking property fences. But in the fashion these rods came up, turned the entire rod into some kind of maze, luckily with all three of us still together. And, um, well, with the tree no longer protecting us, each of the machine-gun picket boards found us again, and we began to run anywhere within the black-iron rod maze just to avoid getting shot.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF YARD IS THIS!" I screamed, running for our lives. Naruto looked just about ready to collapse from all the exerted energy but he still ran anyway, and Sasuke, heck even Sasuke seemed pissed off at all that was happening right now.

Throughout all our running we had finally gotten to the end which was located at the front door of the house (hopefully a normal house) and once we got onto the porch in front of the door, the bottom white floorboards suddenly flipped over, along with the door, throwing us in, before the front of the porch circled back to normal.

"My head..." I groaned, my back laying on top of Sasuke's and Naruto upside down on my left leg. And weirdly enough, we still had our weapons on us. Man, I almost forgot about those. "Everyone alright?"

"No," Naruto answered first, his face distorted into all sorts of unhappy emotions. "That was worse than the zombies!" Sadly I think I agree with him.

"And you just had to set off the first trap," Sasuke muttered with closed eyes.

"What?" Naruto jumped, back to his normal self. Wonderful.

"If you had just watched where you were going we could've just walked along the pathway without setting anything off. Dobe."

"SHUT UP, UCHIHA! I BET THOSE TRAPS WOULD'VE GONE OFF ANYWAY EVEN I WE DID JUST WALK UP LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE!"

"Actually he was right. Just walking down the path way is the only way to not set off those traps," said a fourth voice, making my eyes open wider.

I sat up straight and the guys picked up their heads, all towards the source of the voice. The room we were in (the living room I assume) was pretty dark and barren. With the windows all covered up and no lights on, the place might've just been just like all the others. However from a door and some shadows walked out a figure with hands tucked away in his pockets. When his face was visible from out of the shadows, I knew exactly who it was. There was no doubt. That lazy-attitude, that unenthusiastic tone, that improper back-problem-causing stance anyone could recognize him.

"Who the hell are you," Naruto glared. Scratch that.

"I should be the one asking you that, Einstein," he said back with an annoyed stare that could easily match Sasuke's. "All that racket you caused outside woke me up."

'_So Shikamaru's alive... after all...?_'

"YOU BASTARD YOUR STUPID YARD NEARLY KILLED US!"

"Duh that's the point? You're not that smart are you."

"What gave you that idea," Sasuke commented with an eye roll, still laying on the ground under me.

"Shut up you!" screamed Naruto, pointing frantically at the Uchiha, not even bothering pay him any attention.

"Wait," I said finally, turning myself around and trying to stand up. I felt a little wobbly but once I caught my stance, I began to walk across the room towards him, Sasuke sitting up as well and watching me cautiously.

"H-Hey wait a sec-!" Naruto cried, but not willing to get up in fear of setting off another trap.

However I set nothing off, taking slow hesitant steps. Shikamaru's stare on me didn't change as it did from when he first appeared, but I realized by the time I was right in front of him he was taller than me, maybe a little more than Sasuke even. He really did grow older. '_It really is Shikamaru, isn't it_.'

"Listen here I'm giving no one shelter got that. I take care of myself only and don't even give me any of that 'but I'm pregnant crap' cause I'll still throw you out."

_S - L - A - P_. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME YOU LAZY-BUM YOU! DO I _LOOK_ PREGNANT TO YOU?"

"Whoa," Naruto watched, Sasuke arching an eyebrow.

Shikamaru seemed to have stepped back a bit from my slap and went to glare at me as he held the right side of his face, probably red from the hit. But when he listened to me yell, something in his eyes changed and he finally got it. He gave a little scoff before standing back up straight, his hand still on the side of his face. "There's only two people I know who always called me a lazy-bum," he started, making me simmer down a bit and lower my ready fist. "And since you're not blond with blue eyes, you must be Sakura, then, am I right?"

I starred in disbelief at the teen, caught between punching him again or hugging him. But instead my face softened and I liftered my hands, my muscles relaxing. Sasuke and Naruto stood up from where they were and I smiled just barely. "Nice to see you again, Shikamaru."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

In front of me, Shikamaru threw a small bag of potato chips onto the table - sour cream and onion flavored. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have gotten two small bags, too before Shikamaru sat down at the head of the small table. My legs were folded underneath me on the pillow I sat on as I drank a glass of the much-needed water Shikamaru had given me. "Sorry it's not much, but I'm rationing food."

"Sure, keep more for yourself for later," Naruto grumbled, still upset from the previous hour, but I elbowed him.

Sasuke, not one for eating very much, just rested his head on his hand and looked to the Nara host. "So how've you been, Shikamaru?" he started for conversation.

"Just fine, surprisingly. You'd think someone like me would've died by now. Can't fight, to lazy _to_ fight, heck dying seems like a much easier option than trying to live on." I blinked my eyes. "But who knows, maybe this whole thing will just blow over in a while." That's a fat lie.

Sasuke shrugged, eating the much-thankful for junk food. "Maybe."

"What do you mean _maybe_?" Naruto said in disbelief.

"Meanwhile," Shikamaru continued, eyeing the three of suspiciously. "What are you guys doing here in Chiba? Not really a great tourist attraction for runaways. Just dead people and me."

"We have our reasons," I responded, earning side-ways stares from both Sasuke and Naruto. They were expecting me to give my speech of wanting to find the old gang and all that. Even I was planning on telling him that but, something in me just, held back weirdly.

"Okay..." said Shikamaru, not buying it either, but he decided not to pester me. Despite all these years, he knew I was still a fragile soul. "You know if you guys need a place to stay you could still stick around if you need to. This place is probably the only real-running building left in the entire city."

"Wait so you have working showers?" Naruto asked in complete urgency, receiving odd stares from me, and mostly me.

Shikamaru remained with his usual expression. Nothing new. "Sure?"

"I CALL FIRST DIBS!" yelled the blond, running out of the small room in search of the bathroom. And well, that was the last we saw of him for a while.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered. How much more Naruto-ish could he get?

"I see that guy hasn't changed very much," Shikamaru realized. "You think he would've by now."

"Nope," Sasuke and I said simutaneously, making us look at each other with arched eyebrows.

Shikamaru chuckled across the table from us. "And I see you guys are still the same, too," he said. "The three of you still stuck together after all these years?"

That's one way of phrasing it. "Sure," Sasuke replied first. If he wasn't giving the real answer of how we all drifted apart until the end of the world, he must've had the same thoughts as me.

"And the others?" Shikamaru continued. "Were they still in Tokyo?"

"Nah, they moved away a couple years ago like you did," I said, picking my words carefully. How exactly do you blurt out everything I want to say in one sitting? "When this whole thing started I guess the three of us just, took off and, here we are, heh." I had a horrible smile on my face, but it seemed to pull off. I didn't know how explain to Shikamaru about Ino, yet. Should I? Maybe not. Dammit, I knew this moment would come someday. I just didn't think it'd be this soon.

And heck Sasuke you could help me out with the explanations sometime this century, you know.

"... But yeah enough about us! How about you?" I asked with an almost twitching look.

"Yeah how exactly did you manage to survive his long out here?" Sasuke reworded curiously. Thank you. "Because by the looks of it you seem to be alone out here."

"When it's just you and you know what you're up against, you can't really make any wrong moves," he said. "Chiba as a deserted ghost town is a relatively quiet place. As long as I stay quiet, the zombies don't bother me."

"And then there's that hell you call a front yard," I recalled with a sweatdrop.

That remark seemed to have earned me a smirk from Shikamaru. "Heh, that whole thing was designed to keep people out of this place, dead or alive. How you three managed to get past it is beyond me, but I guess it's a good thing you did."

He didn't even apoligize. "So you put that all up?" Sasuke continued in conversation. This Nara guy almost killed you how can you act so nonchalant? "You always were the smart one in our group back then. It wouldn't surprise me if you created something like that."

"I need some kind of defence if I'm not willing to fight," Shikamaru shrugged. "Normally I'm the type to just want to have people do work for me instead of me doing the work myself. But as you can see, I'm on my own."

"What happened, anyway?" I asked hessitantly. If Chiba was entirely deserted by now, it made me worry about our home city back in Tokyo. "Your parents?"

He glanced downwards at the table. "My folks were at work before the attack. They would've said something by now if they lived."

"Oh," I reacted. Well that was a stupid question and reaction, Sakura.

"Ever since we moved out here after Tokyo I took up homeschooling since I was doing so poorly in my new school."

"Flunked out on purpose?" Sasuke guessed nonchalantly once more.

"Yup," Shikamaru replied. What is up with these guys and their blunt sentences? "It was a real snotty school. Loud girls, thick-headed boys, bad teachers. If I didn't have the motivation to even try and do well in school, what makes them think I had the motivation to put up with the people?" Definitely still the same. "But my parents were still busy workaholics and were always out on business. For years they called me at home every two hours on the dot, no matter what situation. Kind of crazy if you ask me."

"Is that an exageration?" I asked.

He scoffed. "I wish. Having your parents call you every two hours your whole teenage life kind of sets you off. I remember back when I was eleven and there was a blackout. With all the electricity out, my parents sent over a chopper to the house with a computer to make sure I was alright."

"Um..." I didn't even know what to say to that.

Shikamaru made a tiny smile on the side of his face. "They were annoying parents, but they were alright." He paused. "When this whole thing began they didn't call once from work, so I can safely assume they're gone."

Now I really feel bad. And hungry. "Sorry for the loss," Sasuke said, still in the same stoic tone.

"It's fine. I'm better off this way, anyway," Shikamaru shrugged off. "Chiba learned about the whole zombie thing ahead of time actually. We heard that neighboring cities were being plagued by some virus or being attacked or something but everyone kind of just, chose not to believe it."

"Who would," I muttered.

Shikamaru nodded. "But I had this gut feeling and I decided to just go with it. I took my parents credit card, got all the money, bought supplies, and barricaded myself in this house. I knew they'd kill me for that but, I guess they can't really do anything about it now." Wow. "I got the extra food, I set up the front yard, and decided to try and hold out for as long as possible. Selfish yeah but, I can want to live a decent life with a decent ending, as in _not_ getting mauled by a dead guy."

"That's understandable," said Sasuke.

"Wait wait wait wait, I still want to know how you managed to get your _whole _front yard into some giant death trap," I furthered. Long lost friend or not I was still pretty ticked off. "I mean, that tree of yours had giant _SPIKES_. A-And most picket fences nowadays are supposed to be lined with flowers and frilly things, _NOT_ machine guns!"

"Most people nowadays aren't supposed to have the walking-dead as neighbors but look what happened," he remarked back. Got me there. "And I have my secrets. You don't see me asking you guys about your personal lives." I forgot how much Shikamaru used to piss me off back in the day. But, I guess it was nice to be among old friends again. It's worth the annoyance, I think.

* * *

**Man it's been over a month since I've updated. Sorry. School work.**

**Anyway I hope you guys liked this chapter. They finally found Shikamaru! Review if you can!**


	7. Regretting Death

It was late at night now. And for the first time in, like, ever, I was actually able to put down my guard at night. If anything this just seemed more or less like a night of teens hanging out together rather than a couple of kids fending on their own in the world.

Shikamaru said that we could sleep upstairs in the guest room together, Sasuke and Naruto both asserting that I take the bed, but I really couldn't argue. Anyway, Naruto was currently enjoying the old riches of a normal house with the other two guys, such as electricity - electricity enabling him to play video games that he long needed to gain back some sanity.

I, meanwhile, was allowed to take the shower I really needed. I went last for who knows why, but here I am now. I tried to block out of my mind I was just using the same shower the guys had used but, hey, I haven't bathed in days and I smell like dead guys. It's one thing or another.

"Phew..." I breathed out, sitting in the tub of hot water. Normally I'd take a shower. But with no one waiting for the bathroom and me having it all to myself, I figured, hey, why not? You know, I think I finally get why girls hog the bathroom a lot. THIS IS SO FREAKIN' RELAXING!

As I sat in the warm water, I couldn't help but notice the new mark on my arm. It was the one I got from the gunshot back in Tokyo, remember? It'd healed already but the scar was still there, and it would be there for a while. I made a tiny smile in an attempt to hide my gloom. "I guess it's to be expected. So much for perfect skin." My hand came out of the water and touched my bare shoulder, feeling one of the old scars on my back.

"Ah..." Naruto sat in front of the television, eyes glued to the fighting game Shikamaru had allowed him to play. He was currently wearing borrowed clothes as well, courtesy of Shikamaru - a loose shirt and boxers. Sasuke, too. Flannel pants and a big hoodie, and in the bathroom was an extra set of clothes for me, too.

Meanwhile, our bloodied clothes were in a basket being taken down to a basement with Shikamaru and Sasuke. "Thanks again for the hospitality," Sasuke thanked in gratitude as they carefully climbed down the eerie wooden stairs. Nice house or not it was still a decently old building, according to Sasuke. Pulling on a light-bulb string Shikamaru turned on the lights to the basement. Then much to Sasuke amazement, this lowly cell room was full of machinery and technology beyond his wildest imaginations. Sasuke knew that Shikamaru was a bright one but, by now that just seemed like an understatement.

"Wow..." Sasuke said awestruck as Shikamaru walked away. And believe me, it's hard to impress him.

"What?" said Shikamaru who made it across the room to the washing machine, placing the basket of laundry on it.

"This place," Sasuke started, somewhat confused. "W-What...?"

"And the Uchiha is left speechless. What a surprise," Shikamaru remarked. "My parents said I needed a hobby when I was little."

"And you, built all this." Well it explains the front yard.

"It kept me busy," Shikamaru replied, keeping his answers short and away from the big picture. "Lots of the stuff I built down here could probably come in handy to you guys when you leave. Remind me to give you some things before you go. But until then, don't breathe a word about this place to anyone. The last thing I need is people like Naruto poking around dangerous devices."

"Hey Shikamaru you have any more bacon-? HOLY SMOKES- Aghphghghagaaag!" It seems Naruto had peeked into the downstairs doorway and when he saw the laboratory basement he kind of, fell down the flight of stairs in his moment of shock.

Naruto landed on the bottom, finally. Sasuke and Shikamaru watched from the back of the room.

"Nevermind," Shikamaru frowned.

"Dude what is this place?" Naruto exclaimed in amazement, picking himself up. Okay wasn't he supposed to be hurt or something? "Are you like some super secret government spy or something that invents cool gadgets?"

"Don't touch anything," Shikamaru said sternly.

"Ah come on, I'm not four. I know what to and what not to touch."

"Which leads to the original _'don't touch anything'_."

Naruto laughed and walked up to his friends. "Well, it's just us three guys! By the sounds of things upstairs it seems Sakura won't be coming out of the bathroom anytime soon." The blond came between the two and slung his arms around their shoulders. "Come on you guys let's have some fun!"

"You can honestly say that in a time like this," said Sasuke.

"How can't I?" Naruto said purely, toning down his large grin. "Ever since we left Tokyo all we've had is a hard time. Sakura's relaxing and having a good time. Why can't we for a change?"

Shikamaru, annoyd, shut his eyes. "I don't have time for this," he said as he removed Naruto's arm, walking away.

"Hey hold on a sec," Naruto said seriously, going in front of him before he could reach the stair case. "... You know uh, we did come here for a reason."

Shikamaru merely went aroun him. "Just take whatever you want down here tomorrow and I'll explain what they do then. I'm goin' to to sleep."

"Just shut up and listen dammit!" Naruto continued to yell as Shikamaru traveled up the stairs. "We didn't travel for miles nonstop just to get some crappy piece of junk! We came here to get you!" Shikamaru stopped and Naruto allowed himself to soften his aggressive stare, forcing himself to calm down before he got carried away. "I don't know if Sakura wants me saying anything but I'm gonna anyway! Back in Tokyo the three of us didn't talk shit! The three of us had absolutely no communication with each other whatsoever until the zombie thing came up! We _forced_ ourselves to work together just to survive!"

Shikamaru wasn't moving, so it was just assumed he was listening.

"Sakura was so worried about everyone. She was worried about all of the kids from our old group that she was willing to travel Japan on her own just to make sure you people were still alive and well!"

"... Well I'm here. Your business is done."

"No it's not!" Naruto continued to yell, marching up the stairs and grabbing Shikamaru, turning him around forcefully and holding with his fists at the top of Shikamaru's shirt. Sasuke remained where he stood, watching the scene unfold in front of him. "We didn't risk our asses out there just to see you walk and then die once we leave!"

"So what. What I do is none of your concern."

"Maybe but it's Sakura's!" Naruto glared and spit. "Back in Tokyo Sakura was fending on her own against those zombies because she wanted to look for all of you! Dammit Shikamaru doesn't that say anything to you and that hard head of yours?"

"You shouldn't be the one talking," Shikamaru scoffed.

Naruto's fists tightened. "LISTEN TO ME!" he screamed in his face. "Just come with us, dammit! Leave this place and go with us to look for the others!"

"Why should I. They could be dead for all I know and all that effort would've gone to waste," Shikamaru said tiredly. He then sent Naruto a serious stare. "You do have to take that into every consideration, Naruto. Not every teenager in Japan is as smart as you or I. Not everyone is smart enough to survive in this world anymore. Idiots die in this world if they're not careful enough. You can call me scared or whatever you wanna call me. Just don't drag me into your problems."

"WHAT?" he barked. Sasuke started to feel the need to intervene. Naruto may have been an idiot himself, but he had a temper to match that of Sakura's and Sasuke's combined. "YOU THINK ALL PEOPLE DIE FOR NO REASON? ALL OF US WENT THROUGH HELL TRYING TO GET HERE! EVEN INO-"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, coming up behind the blond. "That's enough," he said sternly, coming between the two boys and separating them. He exchanged looks with each of them, realizing how off end the two were. Now probably wasn't a good time to start a fight, let alone on a stair case. "It's late. We should get some sleep."

"But-"

Sasuke sent a look at Naruto. "This is Shikamaru's house. We have no say in the rules whatsoever." With one last warning glare, Sasuke went on to climb back up from this basement. "We leave early tomorrow at dawn. We have to start planning where we have to leave for next."

With Sasuke gone, Naruto looked back at Shikamaru, who kept his stubborn stare down. Naruto held his tongue and narrowed his eyes. "And I thought you were supposed to be the one who could figure everything out." With a shove to the shoulder Naruto walked past the teen, leaving Shikamaru to his dark cell with confused thoughts and emotions.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was in the guest room, standing in front of the full length mirror and starring at myself with a frown. "Shikamaru's nice and all to lend me clothes while my uniform's in the wash but..." I crossed my arms over my torso, hiding my easily exposed chest. One thing Shikamaru didn't have - a bra, which I was in serious need of right now. I had on shorts and a somewhat loose shirt. Maybe I could pull off keeping my arms crossed for the rest of the night. Can't be that hard. I mean it's so simple it's-

"I'm so tired!" announced Naruto's voice as the door opened, Sasuke and Naruto about to walk in.

By instinct my voice let out a high pitched 'eeek' and I turned around, flinging a white pillow from the bed at them. "GET OUT!" my voice screeched. Both of the guys had reacted in surprise and tripped out of the door, slamming it closed before the pillow could hit either of them. Okay yeah I wasn't naked, but I guess it's just instinct, like I said.

Sasuke and naruto sat outside the room on the ground, breathing heavily from am almost possible injury. "What just happened..." asked Sasuke.

"I dunno," Naruto said, rubbing his head which hit the door knob. "She was wearing clothes right? Or was that just me?"

Sasuke exhaled. It was way too late and he was way too tired to put up with any nonsense right now. "Naruto go downstairs."

"What-?" Scary death glare. Naruto blinked and sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll wait downstairs, sheesh. But we better have a decent place to sleep! There's no couches down there." As Naruto got up to leave, Sasuke got up as well, facing the door and knocking.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice called, "Sakura are you in there?"

" 'Sakura are you in there?'," Naruto mocked at the bottom of the staircase. "Bah."

"Come on what's up with you? Naruto and I need to sleep, too, you know," Sasuke continued.

"You can't come in," I argued, trying my best to sound more annoyed than embarassed.

He let out another quiet breath. "You got a good reason to go along with that?"

'Yeah I'm missing a bra.' Okay, what do I say? Think Sakura think!

"It's embarassing," I muttered with a somewhat red face, my arms still crossed tightly across my chest.

"What you run out of tampons what." A loud bang came from the door, causing Sasuke to jump back. "Okay, not that."

_'He's just as much an idiot as Naruto is_,' I thought angrily.

"Just tell me. What. Becuase if there's nothing for me to do here Naruto and I are gonna go sleep downstairs."

"No don't do that! Ugh." Being a girl sucks. "I - I uh..."

"You...?" Sasuke heard the door knob turn slowly and the door opened slowly, too. Only an inch or so, and what he saw was a portion of my face. Sasuke's remained stoic and unemotional, though his frown shone something of impatience, which I expected. I glared sideways with an embarassed flush over my cheeks. "I, don't have a bra anymore since it's in the wash and I uh..." Well, he better have gotten my point by now.

Sasuke blinked his eyes, his face unchanging from pretty much anything.

With the awkward silence I starred back up with a matching annoyed look. "Well what?"

"That's it?" he said with an even more bored tone. "Geez, all this trouble for something like that."

"Hey you try having a chest and going without a bra!"

"I think we can establish that's never going to happen," Sasuke frowned.

I was still against letting the Uchiha in, but I knew I couldn't just deny them the room. "You want to sleep or not."

"Hello yes that's why Naruto and I are here?" Notcing my still troubled situation Sasuke mentally gave in, glancing up before pushing the door with his arm. "Okay let me in."

Before I could oppose he had already pushed the un-locked door aside, my arms rushing back up again to my bra-less shirt. "H-Hey!-" Sasuke began to strip of his sweatshirt. What, the hell. Just as I finally found the words to retort, Sasuke threw the said sweater in my direction, it landing over my head.

"Wear this," he said, now half naked. "That should be baggy enough to hide whatever chest you're trying to cover up."

I lifted the sweater away from my face with a spare hand. "But what about you?" Seeing Sasuke officially shirtless I mentally scolded myself to shut up.

"What about me," he said nonchalantly, rubbing a sore forearm.

"Hello you're standing here half naked. Won't you be cold?"

"Cold?" Sasuke repeated, almost with a laugh. "I'm a guy. I used to sleep shirtless all the time. Starting again now won't make much of a difference for me."

"Oh," I murmered, sliding over the baggy boodie. "Well uh, that's good to know."

"Yeah yeah," he said, hiding whatever he would probably normally say if not for his 'manly pride' or whatever. Either way Sasuke called for Naruto, saying it was okay for us all to go to sleep now. Of course Naruto threw a little tantrum over how Sasuke became shirtless in the first place, but like I said it was only a little while. By midnight all three of us were as silent as summer wind. Naruto and Sasuke slept on the floor with some makeshoft covers and pillows, while I was forcefully given the bed. Yet as comfortable as I was for the most part, ironically I couldn't get to sleep.

"Mgm..." I'm surprised my tossing and turning still hadn't woken the guys. That or they're just heavy sleepers. In the midst of my efforts I could manage to hear clinks and clanks of metal from outside the room. Finally tired and curious (mostly curious), I sat up with a face. Short strands of my pink hair stuck up in places as the shoulder of my sweater slid over. "I can never get decent peace can I."

Sneaking quietly out of the room, I peeked out into the hall. The noise wasn't from upstairs, so I tip-toed down the stair well. I was careful to not trip. Knowing me in these kinds of situations, I would.

It didn't take long for me to find the door in the kitchen that led to another old wooden stair well, probably the basement. I peeked my head into the dimly lit 'cave' and listened to the sound of clashing metal. "So it is from here," I muttered in my naive nature.

Hugging the loose sleeves of my hoodie I went down the basement, somewhat scared. Probaly should have brought a weapon. Geez Sakura you fight zombies on a dairly basis and you forget your bat when you hear starnge noises from a dark basement?

"H-Hello?" I asked hesistently before I could reach the bottom. I peered over the banister and saw more of the supposed basement. It was like a mechanic's garage, and the person in charge-

"Sakura," Shikamaru said in somewhat shock. He was seated at a wooden desk near the wall, tinkering with something that had screws and bolts and sparks.

I took another step down. "I'm uh, not intterupting anything, am I?" I asked shyly. Well that was a stupid thing to say.

"Not really," he said, resuming his work. "You should sleep, though. According to Naruto and Sasuke, you guys will be leaving early soon."

I wanted to say it was his 'work' that was keeping me up, but I held my tongue once more. "Guess it's just the atmosphere of actually sleeping in a house again instead of in the back of a van." I chuckled. "Whenever I would go on vacations I could never really fall asleep in hotels. I'd probabaly make it through the night four hours max before staying up for the morning." It was then I temporarily caught glance of some papers taped to the basement walls. Maps and newspaper articles, though it was the maps that really caught my interest. "You know maps?" I asked him.

Shikamaru followed my gaze, which landed on a big old map of Japan. "I know them to a decent level I guess."

"So first you're a closet science geek and now you're a map-wizard?" I commented sarcastically, eyeing the map still.

"I always considered running away for somewhere when I was little. Never really had the energy to do it but, I studied up on my geography."

"That's good to know..." I blinked, somewhat unsure of what to say to that.

Shikamaru remained silent for a moment. "...Why are you here, Sakura?"

"What?"

"Why, are you here," he repeated.

I found myself in a suddenly different atmosphere. "I..." What was I doing down here again?

"I mean what are you doing here, in Chiba," reworded Shikamaru, halting using his screwdriver. "The three of you obviously avoided the question when you first got here. And I let it slide, up until now anyway." I glanced down guiltily. "Naruto said you guys came to get me," he said. "Is that true?"

Well he was right. "Yeah, but..." So much for thinking before you speak.

The teen sighed and stood up to roll over a second chair. "Here, sit. My mom always complained to me how my dad and I should never let a girl stand while a guy sits. Makes him look bad." I took the chair and sat beside the desk. Meanwhile Shikamaru opened one of the drawers of the desk. After going through a couple unnamed tools, underneith them I saw he found an old photograph of us and the old gang from when we were kids. It was slightly faded now from age, and the corners were crippled a bit, but it still astounded me he had this. "I hope you don't get the idea that I hate you guys or anything."

"N-No of course not," I woke up, looking back at the photo. "May I?"

Without a word he handed it to me and I took it into my hands with care, as if it were a valuable, fragile treasure. And in a way it was. This was of us all at that school field trip. "You and that troublesome blond girl always nagged at me and the guys to have some kind of group gathering somewhere at the weirdest times, you know."

I made a flat smile. "You mean Ino?"

"Well I don't mean Naruto," he scoffed. Shikamaru turned his head to me with a serious expression. I saw it for a moment before looking back down at the photo. "If you can, answer me honestly alright?" I know what he's going to say. It was only a matter of time, but I was hoping that either Naruto or Sasuke would've said it by now, so I wouldn't have to. "Is Ino dead?" It was a flat out question that still doesn't make things any easier for me. "Sasuke told me that she never moved out of Tokyo and that she stayed with you all these years." His serious expression remained. "If she were still alive she would have been traveling with you guys too, wouldn't she."

My dead expression froze, in an attempt to keep myself from reacting any way I'd regret later. "I'm sorry."

As a reaction he sighed. "Eh, that's too bad," shrugged Shikamaru, making me shoot my head up. You tell a guy his old best friend died and he can just shrug it off like that? Am I supposed to smack him or something what? It may have been a couple years but I know Shikamaru. Maybe this is some type of way he reacts to sadness. I mean, he can't just really not care."Well, better where she is now than if she were here. Earth is pretty much hell by now in this state."

I stood up and shoved the roling chair aside, it making a slight crashing sound when it hit the wall. "Shut up," I glowered, holding onto the picture tightly in my right hand. "Just... shut up."

"Hey, you can't change what's happened already," Shikamaru said as if this were a lecture. "Listen, I'm not happy either okay, but it's probably better this way."

"Better?" I fumed, feeling myself about to cry, but I shielded that with anger, a strong up front to cover up anything. "How in the world is it better? How, could it possibly be better with Ino dead? HUH?" Though his face stayed unchanged, his eyes did glaze over to avoid eye contact with mine. "Answer me!"

"I don't have to answer if I don't need to."

I wanted with all my gutus to punch him or something, but I resisted and kept everything secret. "Fine. Don't answer me. But don't be surprised if you wake up one day with a bruise or two. Believe it or not I do keep grudges."

"You know, with this whole zombie crisis thing going on, I never really pictured you as someone who'd be fighting."

"You're that surprised?" I frowned with a sweatdrop.

"Not too much, but still, surprised." My face remained accusing. "Hey don't give me that look. You can't blame me. I mean, who goes from a frail little baseball player to this chick who goes around smacking heads off zombies without a blink of hesistancy?" Got me there. He let out a sigh and turned his chair around towards his desk again. "Anyway, you should head back upstairs and get some sleep. I think I've kept you down here long enough. I told Naruto and Sasuke that I'd give you some eqipment in the morning."

"You won't be coming with us?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows after his statement.

He sent me a glance at the corner of his eyes. "I'll give you what you need but personally I just want to live the reaminder of my short existence in my house, okay?"

"But Shikamaru-"

"But nothing. My house, my rules, according to my-" Shikamaru stopped arubptly.

I decided to try and take a guess at what he was going to say. "Your dad?"

"You'd think that," he said quietly, slowly picking up a screwdriver and resuming his work with some small contraption. "His name was Asuma. He was one of my teachers in my new school before I decided to leave to be homeschooled instead." He made a sound - something like that of a laugh or a scoff. "I don't know why but that guy seemed to stick around for a while in my life. He was something like a father-figure to me while I was growing up here. Being homeschooled and as non-social as I am, you don't meet a lot of people."

"But Asuma was different," I empathized.

Shikamaru nodded. "He taught me games like shogii, got me into the world of mechanics," he explained, motioning to the rest of the room. "After I turned twelve he said I needed a hobby. And well, I guess this is what I took up."

"That's one way of finding your calling."

Shikamaru appeared to laugh at my remark a little. "He was also the last person I ever came into contact with - at least until you guys showed up, anyway."

I brought my head up. "Really?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru nodded. "He was one of the only people who probably believed me when I said that Chiba was going to be run over by zombies soon. When I was home alone, he came over - the last visitor I ever had. Heh, I can remember how his cigarettes was smoking up my entire living room."

"So that was the smell," I uttered, receiving a look from Shikamaru. "Sorry, continue."

"Nah, you get used to it up there," he assured, spinning his chair backwards. "It was because of him I set up those traps in the front in the first place."

"Seriously?"

"I have respect for my former teacher and all but I sure as hell didn't want him in my house, let along having him smoke in my living room like he owns the place. And if people like him could just walk up to my house, I figured dead people might have been maybe a slightly bigger problem."

"So you death-trapped your entire property."

"Just the outside," Shikamaru admitted. "That was the last I saw of Asuma... He wished me luck in 'surviving' and just left."

"You think he's dead?"

"Who knows?" he shrugged. "Knowing that old man, he probably got killed off like everyone else. But I can safely assume that he's smart enough to have some sort of survival plan if he wanted."

"Kind of like you?"

With a short stare he ignored my saying, opening a second drawer. The only hing inside were these two shiny objects. I wondered what they were. "He gave me these to protect myself with."

"What are they?"

"He called them trench knives - You put your fingers through the holes and hold them over your knuckles."

"I've never seen anthing like them before," I implored in astonishment. Hm... maybe I am different from when we were kids. "And he just gave them to you?"

"I was just as surprised as you are."

"Wow," I bretahed out, starring back into the drawer. After seeing a small sparkle in the metal, I looked back up at Shikamaru with a lit up expression. "Let's fight."

"What?"

"Come on Shikamaru I want to see you use them!"

"Listen Sakura, I'm no martial artist expert like Sasuke or Naruto, and I don't have any super muscle like certain girls do." I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm not going to use these knives, and I probably never will. End of story."

"Why not?"

"I just... don't have any motive to fight," he shrugged, closing the drawer with the knives.

"Or any motive to live, either," I finished, standing up and setting the box of tissues on the desk. "Thank you for the conversation, but I'm going back to bed."

"Good," he said as I was half-way up already.

I stopped near the door and turned my head around, looking sadly at my old friend. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

At first I didn't think he was going to respond since it took so long, but he gave me an answer either way. "I'm not changing my mind," he disclosed.

"... Do you know what my motivation is, Shikamaru?" I asked with my back turned. "What my reason is for still living?" I paused, whether he was listening or not. "My reason to live, is to make sure that all the people I've ever cared for can still feel joy in a world like this. That, is my motivation." Another short pause ensured. "And if our leaving you alone is what will make you happy... then we'll leave."

Well, I tried. With a defeated mood I exited the dark basement and ventured back up to my chambers for a couple hours of decent, well-needed rest. Heaven knows we'll need it.

* * *

**I'd like to say I'm proud of myself for finally getting to this chapter. With all the school work piling up lately I thought I'd never get to this. **

**But yeah I have to admit I've been getting lazy. I've been spending my days for a change just walking around no where, eating ice cream, actually watching old cartoons like Hey Arnold and Danny Phantom. I haven't felt like a kid in so long. I never knew NOT doing homework could be so... relaxing rather than stressing - not that it's a good message for my dear readers. Doing home work is good for you and your relationship with adult authority figures ^^**

**Well, I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will determine Shikamaru's fate, mwahahahaha... ha. Yeah.**

**Latur. Review, critique, eat ham and cheese, etc.**


	8. Always at Fault

**This is the final part of the Finding Shikamau arc of the story. In the next chapter the gang will be heading off to find another one of their missing friends. Try to guess who before you reach the end of the chapter.**

**(THE ANSWER IS SOOO NOT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER SO NO CHEATING XP) _nah jk jk_**

**But yeah, almost the end of the school year. Dang I'm gonna be a junior. Sophomore year was so relaxing. Now we have to prepare for college and stuff, if we aren't already. gah... I don't wanna ._.  
But none of my complaints are any of your concerns so READ ON! IGNORE ME PLEASE!**

**Oh and as an answer to some of the reviews, meh MAYBE Sakura will be the only girl. Maybe she won't? That's one of the themes of the story that I'll go into later. And yes Hinata will appear some time soon. Maybe next chapter? Maybe later on.**

**O****H! But just a question: should Hinata have feelings for Naruto or Kiba? Personally I like pairing her off with Kiba but I want to ask you guys since, well, this fic's for your enjoyment. So... YEAH I'M SORRY FOR INTERUPTING AGAIN READ ON!**

* * *

By next morning, all of our stuff was already getting packed, not that it was much to begin with. Sasuke and Naruto were taking care of that downstairs. Meanwhile I was still upstairs, getting dressed back into my school uniform. I don't know why but there's something about this set of clothes that just made me cling to wearing them for the sake of, well, something important. Apparently that sake applied to Naruto and Sasuke as well.

A quick breath escaped my lips as I took one last decent look in the closet mirror. My school uniform was now blood-stain free, finally. The tiny rips and tears I had sewn back together this morning for us. were hardly visible. I admit, I missed wearing this, even the long dorky skirt which Naruto still insisted I trim shorter. Aside from that Shikamaru had managed to persuade me to loose the school shoes and get on some decent combat boots. I kind of didn't have a choice after he, uh, took one of my shoes and threw it out the window and into his backyard. He warned me that his backyard had even worse traps. Sure maybe he was bluffing, but hey, I'm not that desperate for an old brown leather shoe.

"Are you sure this is enough food?" Naruto asked for probably the billionth time that hour.

Sasuke set the cardboard box down a second time, looking at his blond companion. "We're taking only the necessary, not a buffet."

"Hey! Food's necessary. What so we bring like three bags of ammunition and one box of chips? How lame is that?"

"Be lucky you're even getting that much food," Shikamaru remarked, appearing from the basement with one last box, setting that one too down on the table with the other three. "Okay, so you have the medical stuff, the food, and the new gadgets I assume should work and not blow up."

"Yeah, thanks a lot for the supplies," Sasuke said. "Naruto go bring the van around."

"What?" Naruto jumped. "Why me?

"You got a problem with it?"

"Yeah I have a problem! Barren city full of zombies going 'ugh! Magh! Bleugh!' a-and that 'super nice' front lawn Shikamaru's got going out there!"

"There is an off button, you know," Shikamaru frowned, his hands in his pockets again. "Just go and get your van. You'll be fine."

Naruto did one last stubborn glare before taking the offered keys Sasuke was holding out and marching out the front door. "Anyway," Sasuke sighed, turning to Shikamaru. "You sure you don't wanna come? Last chance."

"I'm not changing my mind," Shikamaru declined again, only to receive a defeated shrug from Sasuke, who picked up two of the cardboard boxes and made his way towards the door. Before he took his fourth step, he and Shikamaru heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and both turned around, seeing me with my bat and a bag strap across my chest.

"You ready?" called Sasuke to break the silence.

"Yeah." I picked up two of the remaining boxes on the table and went to follow Sasuke. I passed Shikamaru without a glance, trying my best to show no emotion.

It didn't take long for us to get to the van where Naruto pulled up. The four boxes of supplies were secured in the back with a rope, courtesy of Sasuke. I sat on the edge of it, a somewhat sad expression worn on my face. When Sasuke noticed, he took a pause in tying the ropes. "You alright?"

I nodded to assure him. "Just kinda sad we couldn't bring Shikamaru with us."

Sasuke began a second rope around the boxes. "I told you earlier on not to expect much." With a frown I lowered my head a little, Sasuke suddenly feeling a tad regretful for saying that. From the front of the van, Naruto mouthed 'nice' to the Uchiha with a pissed off expression, to which Sasuke responded with a glare. "At least he's alive," Sasuke pointed out right after, trying to cheer me up.

"But for how long?" I answered back in a low tone. I know Shikamaru's smart and he has the resources to survive in a place like this, but what worries me is if he'll want to. Then without us here to make sure he stays alright... will he be alright?"

Sasuke finished the final knot. "Alright Naruto, start the van up," Sasuke called to the front. Hearing the engine start, I lifted my legs into the van as Sasuke climbed in as well, closing the two back doors. I turned my head slightly to the side to see past the back window. With one last look at Shikamaru's house, I saw Shikamaru at his door, seeing us off.

"He has the same gloomy look you do," Sasuke commented, making me turn towards him. Naruto pressed the pedal and we drove off, mentally saying our goodbyes to our departed friend.

As Naruto drove, within minutes he took great notice of the silence in the back and glanced up to the rear view mirror. "Ne ne, cheer up, Sakura! We just had a good night's rest and we have food now! And leaving Shikamaru behind won't be all that bad-" Naruto stopped talking on account of Sasuke's intense glare from behind, which could be reflected all the way to the rear view mirror. "Or I could shut up now yeah."

In the midst of driving through the ruins of Chiba, I noticed through the back window a zombie walking down the street. Then a second, and not too long after that a third. "Guys, we've got a couple of zombies coming up," I warned unenthusiastically.

Sasuke heeded. "Naruto, keep driving until we hit a roadblock."

"You don't think I don't know that," Naruto muttered, getting upset with Sasuke's constant orders. "Either way we have a full tank of gas so speeding this time won't be much of a problem. Hold on you guys!" With Naruto's crazed driving again, the van shifted on its next turn. Sasuke was smart to hold onto the front seats this time as my shoulder collided with the boxes. Through the front and back windows, zombies could be seen chasing at us in low numbers slowly rising. Naruto ran over an occasional few, but I knew by experience it wouldn't be long until we found a crowd we'd have to fight through to escape.

"Up ahead near the city exit," Naruto announced, seeing a large crowd in a narrow street. "You think we can drive through them?"

"Not if you want our windshield broken for the third time," Sasuke lectured, preparing his sword at his belt.

It was only now I realized how narrow this street truly was. It was a long line of zombies, at least one block's length. "One of us will need to stay in the van to drive. Once we leave we can't go all the way back for it."

"No way am I staying in to drive this hunk of metal. I have a score to settle with these guys," Naruto glared with his thumb pointing outside.

"I guess I'll stay then," I said with a worried look.

I was received with somewhat shocked looks by the guys. "You sure?" Sasuke asked. "I mean you've never really driven this thing before."

"How hard can it be?" I lied with a faking smile. In all honesty I was a bit too distracted to fight any zombies, and I didn't want to prove myself right by leaving the van. "Besides Sasuke, you're too good a fighter to stay in here. Naruto needs you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto grimly asked.

"Just come on," Sasuke ordered, pushing the blond out his side door with his hockey stick. Sasuke went to jump over too the front seats to follow Naruto, but not before giving me on last look of concern, which was quite rare might I add. "You'll be alright in here?"

I sent a positive smile. "Mhm." I knew I couldn't fool Sasuke with a fake smile, but what was I supposed to do? Cry and beg don't leave me? Before he left he sent me a comforting half smile and jumped out, shutting slamming the door shut. Now alone, I jumped over to the front seats and locked all the doors, situating myself in the driver's position: feet above pedals, hands on wheel, and total concentration.

I watched Naruto and Sasuke fight the army of zombies outside like a super powered duo. Though the fear of one of them getting bit still lingered around in the back of my mind. "I swear it amazes me sometimes how well those two work together."

Seeing them slowly create a path, I hesitantly pressed forward with the van. At the pace we were going it was going to take a while, but it was progress. At least that's what I thought. Within a matter of minutes of penetrating the undead crowd, the van was surrounded by zombies trying to get in from all directions. Banging noises echoed the now-extremely small vehicle as I tried my best to remain calm in our newfound situation. "Well Sakura, it's either in here or out there." Another loud bang from the roof made me wince and grab my bat from the side.

"AGH!" Naruto jumped and took out a good number of the zombies around him, only for Sasuke to take down one behind Naruto. "You know, this plan sounded a lot cooler when Sakura first said it," shouted Naruto, doing a kick to a zombie coming up to him. "I've seen some ugly situations in my life but this is just nuts."

"I know," agreed Sasuke, quite surprised himself, fending off an upcoming zombie before decapitating it.

Naruto then smirked. "Ya thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I highly doubt that," Sasuke responded, slightly angering Naruto. "So what is it."

"It's only a couple meters away until we reach free land," Naruto guessed. "If we can just quickly run through and take down as much as we can, maybe we can actually get out of here.

Sasuke scoffed. "Eh, it's worth a shot.

Facing forward in their small clearing, Naruto and Sasuke prepared to run on three. "THREE!" With separate battle cries the two teens took off, smashng and cutting heads across the one-way street. It was almost comical the way their plan carried out.

I watched from the driver's seat with an unsettling look, and a short sweatdropped came on the side of my head as well. "Those two..." I regained my comosture. "Well, better hurry." Before I could step on the gas pedal, another unseen zombie landed on the hood of the van, scaring me beyond wits. The zombie's mouth opened, showing his rotted yellow overgrown teeth and his empty eye sockets with rotting skin. Ew?

At this point I didn't know what to do. Can't attack it from in here. I figured I could just have the van accelerate through and hope the zombie falls off, but I was afraid of what he'd do then. Before I could think, all of a sudden the zombie was tackled off of the van's front by a flying thrown garbage can. I sat frozen in my seat, wondering what just happened.

The next thing I know, I started to hear the faint sound of a familiar tune - an ice cream truck? I blinked my eyes, racking my mind. "Huh?" But I was proven not insane, as all of the zombies began to limp and walk towards the source of the sound, and away from me and the van. I sat in my seat, trying to stop the shaking of my still paralyzed body. "W-What...?"

It didn't take very long for just about all of the zombies around me to have vanished. There were barely any in sight except for the ones farther away near where Sasuke and Naruto and disappeared to.

Unlocking the van, I cautiously opened my side's door and stepped out, looking around. I was completely alone, at least I thought I was. I looked to where all of the other zombies had gathered around, near a run down ice cream truck on the side of the road. "But how...?"

"Take a wild guess," said Shikamaru, walking up beside me. With him in sight I sent a lost look towards him. His attire was still the same as when we left him, and his extremely bored facial expression hadn't changed, either. "You guys owe me for rewiring that ice cream truck. I almost got killed getting out of there."

"S-Shikamaru..." Seeing him in front of me I had no idea how to react. "What are you doing out here I- I thought you-"

A sudden glint in his eye shone, and he jumped over my head, finally taking his hands out of his pockets. Behind me I saw him attack an oncoming zombie with his infamous trench knives encircling his knuckles. Within a blink of an eye, Shikamaru alone had slit the throat of my attacker and its head soon fell over, spilling a small amount of dead blood. Shikamaru landed on the black hood of the van, turning to face me. The look on my face must've been priceless to someone like him. "You owe me for that, too. Now I have zombie blood on my knives."

Despite my obvious shock and surprise, I was quite thankful Shikamaru was here now. However instead of bearing a wide thankful grin I kept my stoic look. "What made you change your mind?"

He took a sideways glance, still on top of the van. "Let's just say I found that lost motivation you were blabbering on about before." He cracked a smile. "I may not have much of a reason to keep living, but I do have a reason to make sure you guys don't die before finding the others." It was then I was able to truly have peace at mind about Shikamaru. "Besides, it might be fun, seeing how they all turned out. Maybe one of them turned out to be a bigger loser than I am. If that's the case, then going through all this crap could be worth while."

I kept in a chuckle. "So I assume you'll be coming with us now?"

"You can say that," he replied, looking ahead and seeing Sasuke and Naruto fending for them selves near Chiba's city exit. "Now get back in the van. I'll take care of any of the others trailing behind you."

Deciding not to question him for now, I nodded and climbed back into the van. Stepping on the gas pedal, I sped off without hesitation, and surprisingly, Shikamaru was running right behind the van at top speed as well from what I could see in the rear view mirror. "You're just full of surprises aren't you, you sarcastic jerk."

Sasuke found the speeding van coming up to where he and Naruto were. "Here she comes."

Naruto grinned, looking back. "It's about time. Huh?" Naruto saw another figure running behind the van. "What is that? Another zombie?" He narrowed his eyes. "Wait, no way. It's, Shikamaru?"

"Is that so," said Sasuke, not believing what Naruto had just stated aloud. But he was right, the Nara was running right behind Sakura. "Well what do you know, it is him."

It took a couple of seconds of staring in disbelief, but Naruto let out a huge laugh, rubbing the bottom of his nose with his signature grin. "I swear he's the most indecisive guy in the world, even before this dramatic apocalypse."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

By nightfall, the van had been parked outside an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere. Luckily the just-as-abandoned mini mart was open for our disposal. We managed to snag a decent dinner there for us in the van. Inside the vehicle, small flashlights and lanterns illuminated the vehicle.

"It sure is nice to actually have a peaceful night for once," I remarked, eating a chocolate bar while leaning against the front seat were Naruto was sprawled over. Sasuke and sat across from me with our lamp in the center of the back of the van.

"What happened to Shikamaru, though?" Naruto asked tiredly, having kept the whole front of the van to himself. "Does it really take a guy this long to take a piss?"

Curiously I glanced outside the van's broken windows. In the midst of the darkness I saw Shikamaru sitting outside alone by the gas station's mini mart. He was starring at something, that or he was deep in thought. "I'll be right back," I told, taking a flashlight with me as I exited through the back of the van, leaving the Sasuke and Naruto to hopefully not kill each other.

As I walked up to Shikamaru, he once again noticed my presence and took his view away from the sky. "What."

"Just checking up on you," I defended, standing above him. "It's dangerous to be outside this late."

"What could happen to me? As long as Naruto keeps his foot off the van's horn I have nothing to worry about."

My eyebrows furrowed and instead I turned around, looking up at the night sky too. The moon was visible through some dark clouds, and many stars were out once again. "You wanna be alone?" I asked, feeling I was intruding on his privacy.

He responded with a calm shrug, and with that I took a seat down on the ground near him, holding my flashlight over my knees. It was kind of uncomfortable but I adjusted. "Do you remember back there," he began, "when I told you about how my parents are most likely gone now and how I'm probably just better off?"

"I'm going to suppose that was just an act...?"

"No kidding," Shikamaru said with a small chuckle. "I really do miss them. And I know for a fact they're really gone. They're not the kind of people who'd survive in this kind of place. Same goes for Asuma. I'd never tell him, but I miss him, too. " He paused for a moment. "I also want to apologize to you."

"Hm?" I blinked. "For what?"

By now Shikamaru seemed a little uncomfortable. Kind of like Sasuke sometimes when he finds himself in a situation he'd father not be in. "Last night in my basement, when we were talking about Ino..."

_"Well, better where she is now than if she were here. Earth is pretty much hell by now in this state."_

_I stood up and shoved the rolling chair aside, it making a slight crashing sound when it hit the wall. "Shut up," I muttered, holding onto the picture tightly in my right hand. "Just... shut up."_

_"Hey, you can't change what's happened already," Shikamaru said as if this were a lecture. "Listen, I'm not happy either okay, but it's probably better this way."_

_"Better?" I retorted, feeling myself about to cry, but I shielded that with anger, a strong up front to cover up anything. "How in the world is it better? How, could it possibly be better with Ino dead? HUH?"_

I remembered that scene clearly in my head, and I had to admit remembering bothered me. Then I couldn't help reliving those angered thoughts, too. "Why did you say those things then? Do you honestly think it's better that she's...gone?"

"I meant that it's better this way... that she died then," Shikamaru reworded slowly. "Because I have no idea how I would've reacted if she died in front of me herself." At that moment my eyebrows lessened up and my grip on my arms loosened as well. "I denied it a lot back then, but I'd always been close with Ino."

"I know," I said mournfully.

"But like I said... there's nothing we can do about it," he said in a short daze. A moment of silence ensured. "... I know I probably shouldn't be asking this, but... how did she die?" My heart stopped. "I can list the array of possibilities, but-"

"But you need to know," I finished in the same tone. He nodded, and I contemplated over what I should say. That I couldn't protect her? That I couldn't save her? That I was the one who officially ended her life and spilled her blood?

Before I knew it I already had tears dripping down my face. I refused to sob - not in front of Shikamaru. This was the guy I always had to show a rivaling brave face for. I couldn't let him see me cry, much less for Ino. And so I just left them falling on my arms as I hugged my knees. "I'm so sorry, Shikamaru..."

"Hey," he started with an assuring hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to always pretend to be brave, you know."

At that, I began to sob again. I hate how I'm such a cry baby, though. "It's all my fault! Ino's dead because of me!" I muffled through my cry. "I wasn't protecting her and she was bit by one of those monsters, Shikamaru! It's my fault!"

"It's not."

"Shut up it is! Then before she could turn she told me to smash her head and I - I - I -" My voice had begun breaking all the more than it had already. "I'm sorry, Shikamaru..." In the midst of it all Shikamaru's arm pulled me over as I just continued to cry and break down, out of guilt, sadness, some kind of mad mix between the two. It was a horrible feeling. When you're in such a hell of a world, you seek comfort, you hide away the bad stuff. But when you're at your most comfortable, your most vulnerable... that's when all the bad comes back to you like a bomb.

Eventually I managed to pull myself back together and I went to try and wipe my face with my shirt. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like that was the first time I've seen you cry," Shikamaru pointed out bluntly once more, making me look at him with a confused look. "I doubt any of the others realized it back then, but you were always one to be crying, at least on the inside," he started. "Well maybe Sasuke noticed but hey, that's just me."

"Why Sasuke," I pouted with a look.

A half-smile came up on the Nara's face. "Eh, just my guess, like I said." He returned to that serious stare. "But, I was right wasn't I? You knew how to hide things well back then. Even your own problems."

I couldn't help but glance down guiltily. It's been a while since I've thought about that, about my Mom. Ino was the only other person who ever found out my secret about my back. And Shikamaru wasn't slow, either. If anyone out of our group it was probably him who was the most suspicious of me and my lying about my fake smiles. "I still sorry I couldn't bring Ino here..."

"It's alright," replied Shikamaru, leaning back against the gas station wall. "... It's nights like this I'd wonder how she was, back in Tokyo. I also wondered, if she thought about me too." He gave a small scoff. "Man, all this cheezy stuff must be getting to me."

I shook my head. "No. It's nice, how you still thought about her after all this time. She wanted to see all of us again so we could all laze around just like this... together." Thinking of Ino I looked up towards the sky again, my eyes still red but no longer sad. It's been so long since I've had such happy thoughts of Ino, and for the first time I let happy tears flow from once more from the corners of my eyes. "I miss her."

Then as if sensing it I looked down to Shikamaru, who I saw leaning his head against his arms folded behind his head. With the clouds moving in front of the moon some more shadows crept in amongst the visible night, over the top half of Shikamaru's face where I could no longer see. However what I did manage to catch a glimpse of was a small sparkle near where his eye would be, and a tiny stream of a tear fell down the side of his face. "I... miss her, too."

And for a while we just stayed like that under the presence of the stars, filled with thoughts of our wonderful, deceased friend. Meanwhile back in the van Naruto watched from the back window, his eyes narrowed in a tired suspicion. "What are those two talking about...?"

"Give it a rest with the spying and go to sleep. You're annoying me," said Sasuke whose eyes had been closed for a while, him leaning comfortably against the side of the van.

"You know you want to know, too, teme," Naruto muttered with a glare to the Uchiha. "Sakura's off with that totally moody guy. Aren't you at least a bit curious as to whether or not he made a move on her?"

"It's none of my business what they do," Sasuke continued to say with his shut eyes. However he managed to open one and look at the blond. "...Besides, what we _should_ be worrying about is where we're supposed to be going after this in the morning?"

The news of this didn't startle Naruto very much, but it did somewhat catch him off guard that it'd be mentioned now. "Sakura told me that we'd be heading west to Nagoya. It's where Neji's family was supposed to have moved."

"That's right," Sasuke remembered, glancing back down. "Going through all the crap we went through just finding Shikamaru was enough trouble."

"And now we'll be doing it all over again," completed Naruto, holding his loose fist against the van's door window. It's kind of pathetic how we went about all this. It also makes you wonder how much more we can take of all this. Our limits, our expectations. We don't know anything. So why is it that we keep going, may you ask? Well... I don't know either.


	9. Lasting Serenity

**I AM SO SORRY!**

**I know I haven't updated since, like, May. SORRY!**

**I got wrapped up in my other Naruto story that I kind of forgot about this one. Not really 'forgot' per say. I actually finished this whole arc of the story. I just, forgot to post one chapter before I left for vacation... yeah my bad.**

**SORRY!**

**Aside from that, I hope this chapter makes up for it. This is where the gang, plus Shikamaru now :) , travels to Nagoya, Japan to find Neji. **

**Will they? Will they not? Yeh just read down... And review if you forgive me T-T**

* * *

I like to believe that the days are getting better and easier. Honestly I do. In fact I think it'd be healthy if that was my mindset.

"Go go go go!" barked Naruto, waving his arm as me, Sasuke, and Shikamaru ran out of the small cabin stop along the high way. Along our drive to the city of Nagoya we had taken a short pit stop at a small ran-sacked house in search of any water. Well, it was supposed to be short - short meaning quick and peaceful. We managed to snag a box or two of some water bottles from inside. However some zombies had trailed slowly behind, thankfully not a lot. Either way, any number of the walking dead is always a problem never to be taken lightly.

The four of us boarded our black van as quickly as possible, Sasuke taking the driver's seat by instinct as the rest of us slammed the back shut. Sasuke stomped down on the gas and we took off once again down the lonely roads, being sure to catch our breaths on our yet again.

"That was a close one," agonized Naruto, leaning his head back as he quickly went for a new water bottle without a second thought and gulping more than half of it down.

Annoyed, Shikamaru began to criticize the blond. "You really should consider conserving your rations of water. That's what got us into looking for some again in the first place."

"He's got a point," I had to admit.

Naruto put his near-empty bottle down and sent a glare at us, wiping his moist mouth with his tanned arm. "Hey you can ask me to starve myself of meat and everything else we're 'rationing' - even ramen - but you can NOT ask me to save water, got that?" Knowing Naruto you would've thought that sentence would be the other way around.

"Would you guys just shut, up," Sasuke groaned from the front seat. "It's too early in the morning for me to put up with this."

"Well we could've gotten a couple more hours of sleep if _somebody_ had stayed awake during their turn on watch," Shikamaru accused at Naruto, who of course retorted back and forth.

As the three guys bickered with one another I couldn't help but just give a sympathetic yet sheepish smile as I took a desperate small sip of water from one of the new bottles as well. I would've assumed my role as the mediator right away, but at the moment these kinds of moments were the kinds that I wanted to savor as of recently. Simple arguing was common amongst us now, a way of keeping normalcy.

To pass the time on the road I took out the tiny map pocket book from my belt around my school skirt, skipping to the bookmarked page. "Nagoya, Japan..." If I was right, we should make it there before noon.

Neji Hyuuga was our next target, now that we had Shikamaru. The only difference about Neji Hyuuga from the rest of the group was that he was a year our senior. Nonetheless we were all still very close.

To be honest he was the last one to join our group when we were little. While the rest of us were in the second grade, he transferred into our school some time afterwards in the grade above us - kind of broke the barrier between the first grade-second grade thing once we met. After a couple of years into middle school Neji had moved back to his original home town in Nagoya, and we haven't heard from him since. Loosing contact is always a difficult thing, not to mention mentally painful for the weak-hearted.

And now I was back to my original fears of his safety and well being. Was Neji okay? Was he healthy? Alive?

With Naruto still trying to put up an argument with a lazy and tired Shikamaru, Sasuke noticed in the rear-view mirror that I was deep in thought, starring at the small and out-of-date map book. Seeing me in such a state he exhaled silently. "Sakura, stop looking so spaced out. It's annoying."

Hearing him I glanced up with an indifferent look. What a rude thing to say to someone, I thought. But seeing his face in the rear view mirror I could tell that was just him being concerned for me. Nonetheless I still kept my worry-filled face.

"Hey don't talk to Sakura like that you bastard!" Naruto cried suddenly behind the driver's seat. However his face was suddenly palmed by Sasuke who, while driving, shoved the Uzumaki down without much effort.

"Shut up. You're annoying, too."

I find it strange sometimes, how mentally stable we all manage to remain throughout all this chaos. Sometimes I'd wonder just how I ended up in our current situation, and it always narrowed down to two choices: _I want to find the others_ or _I want to live_. Was I only using the others as a way of trying to selfishly survive? The negative thoughts surveying my mind only furthered my depressing state as I hung my head in self-pitying shame.

Lounging and probably the most sane out of us at the moment, Shikamaru glanced from Naruto, to Sasuke, then to me, stopping at me. From his point of view what he found was a dead pink flower in the midst of the worst case depression with a dark aura cloud of despair. Seeing me he couldn't help but make a confused yet lost face. Meanwhile, Naruto's boombing voice in the background mixed with Sasuke's low-toned come backs. '_Are things always this crazy?_'

With all of us into our own worlds and state of minds, the van neared it's destination of Nagoya, Japan. Just like Chiba each of us had looked out the windows in anticipation of what this city looked like. Bleak? Destroyed? Still going?

However much to our surprise, everything seemed relatively okay. It was odd, seeing such an untouched-appearing city. Despite it's seemingly normal appearance, not a soul was visible down these unusually sunlight-bright streets. A few cars over-spun here and there but aside from that, nothing was wrong. There were no signs of violence or struggle anywhere, not even a broken window or dead body. Or blood even.

"Um," Naruto started, me, him, and Shikamaru glancing out the back window. "I'm not the only one a little suspicious right?"

"Well duh. Everything looks... nice," I noted, actually seeing some blue tints in the sky. How long had it been since I had noticed such a kind blue sky?

Shikamaru frowned. "I never liked that word, _'nice'_. Originally 'nice' was derived from Latin and was actually something real negative."

"Leave it to you to know something like that," Naruto sweatdropped.

The Nara shrugged. "Either way I'm just saying I don't like this place. It's too perky for my taste, even before we were overrun by the undead."

As our car strolled down the hollow streets, I was actually expecting a zombie to just pop out of an alley way right when we would let our guard down, but nothing came into sight. It was kind of scary, actually. The whole sight of a normal looking city reminded me of that prison facility that Kabuto ran. Those were disturbing memories for me and the others - memories I hoped we wouldn't be reliving any time soon.

"Hello? Don't exactly know where I'm driving?" Sasuke called aloud to all of us in the back. "Sakura get over here. You're the only one who actually knows where we're going."

Leaving my suspicions to a halt I crawled to the front of the van over to where Sasuke was. Behind his seat I sat on my knees. Even the front window view looked suspiciously calm. "If I remember correctly Neji moved here to go back with his family at the Hyuuga Estate."

"The Hyuuga Estate," Shikamaru said with some recollection of the word. "The Hyuuga Clan is known for its martial arts technique and style. Due to their involvement in the Japanese force they're supposedly profoundly wealthy."

"Oh yeah..." Naruto grimmaced, his face scrunching up from the back window. "I forgot that bastard was loaded. He still owes me fifteen bucks that jerk!"

Sasuke and I remained silent for a few seconds before resuming our previous conversation. "The Hyuuga Estate shouldn't too far from here," I continued. "Just, look for some big mansion or something. It can't really be that hard to miss around a place like this." No sooner than I had said it we eventually came down a long narrow one-way road. It was a drastic change from tall skyscrapers and rectangular buildings to old feudal Japanese-like compartments. The small street was lined with hovering Sakura Trees still in bloom with a stream of cherry blossoms raining down the pathway. It was almost nostalgic of our old world.

I've always like old Japanese traditional style of things, and there was something about it that caught my attention. I couldn't blame Neji for moving back here, even though it was more or less his father's decision, as far as I remember, or know. "Welcome to the Hyuuga Estate," I stated. Each of the Japanese houses were connected in some way, long lines and divisions of housing for an entire family clan.

"This entire street is the Hyuuga Estate," Sasuke repeated for clarification. When he felt me hid behind him, he smirked. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Damn..." Naruto gaped, turning in all directions. "Neji's place should have its own zip code. Look at this place!"

"I only hope he's still here," I murmered, glancing down.

Once the van reached the center of the Hyuuga Estate, a circular dirt yard-clearing with a no longer running fountain in the center, we parked next to it and stepped out in our usual fashion, carrying our weapons for a sense of protection. A place like this would either be totally empty like the rest of Nagoya, or full of zombies who never left the estate. Aside from the main street entrance, the three other corners of the dead garden were surrounded by a patio. Brown wooden walkways lined the edges with walls and wooden pillars. It would've looked relatively brighter with the flowers not dead and the fountain working.

"Everyone stay close," Sasuke ordered, holding one of his two swords over his shoulder. "No splitting up until we know precisely what's around here."

"No duh," I replied with a short return-glare from the Uchiha.

With all our backs to one another, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice a somewhat shaking Naruto, holding his hockey stick in an awkward 'battle' stance. "What's up with you?"

"Well after _your_ crazy front lawn stunt I may have developed a phobia of new places that look normal!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Oh brother."

"Would you guys focus?" I scolded, until I heard a rustling grass kind of noise. Turning to the left I could have sworn I saw a shadow on the patio, running behind a pillar before it came out of view. "Hey I think I might've seen something."

"What?" Shikamaru then noticed the same thing in his own direction, a small mysterious shadow move across in the distance before disappearing. "I just saw something, too," he alerted, holding up his trench knives in defense.

"Oh my gosh we're under attack!" Naruto screamed in a panic, only for Sasuke to calmly bonk his head with the bottom of his sword handle.

"Shut it. The more noise you make the worse the situation gets." Sasuke then adverted his eyes to the surrounding garden area. He went on to speak in a much louder tone, bravely to say the least. "Alright! I don't want to spend my day dulling my sword blades so come out and fight us!"

As if answering to his provoking call, the figures behind the pillars moved, and much to my surprise they weren't zombies at all. (Actually I never really thought about zombies having enough intellect to hide behind things). Instead they were small children, peering out from behind the pillars. Each had some type of ragged dirty clothing to wear, but all accompanied by some blue and white shirt-robe. Despite their hiding tactics, each looked relatively afraid, scared - more so than Naruto.

"What the..." I turned my head in all directions, seeing nothing but small kids half our size as our enemies, or at least 'supposed' enemies. Out of all things to find in a barren ghost city we came across this. "They're just children..."

Finally, one of them stepped forward and towards us from behind a pillar. It was a small boy with tanned skin and shaggy black hair. In his hand appeared to be something like a knife. A kunai knife, actually. It made me wonder if all of them had such a dangerous weapon. He didn't even look sure how to use it, and the look on the innocent boy's face was still hesitant and afraid from what I could read. "W-Who are you people? What are you doing here?"

Exchanging looks we somehow mentally agreed to put down our weapons, and we did, all except for Sasuke, whose stance remained unchanged. With my bat down at my feet and the boy in my direction, I began to walk towards him. Instantly he held up the kunai knife with both trembling hands, but calmly I approached him with a raising arm. He eventually caught the sense to lower his own weapon as I knelt down in front of him, giving a small, assuring smile. "It's okay, we won't hurt you," I said comfortingly, like a mother coming to her child after a nightmare. "We're just looking for a friend who lived here."

"Lived here?" he repeated. "You mean Neji?" I swore my heart skipped a beat when he said his name.

"So Neji Hyugga still lives here?" I clarified, suddenly nervous and anxious to hear he was alive.

The boy's face then wore a wide grin, seeing we weren't attacking any time soon. "Yeah! He practically owns the whole place!"

"Of course," Naruto muttered to the sky.

"Could you take us to him?" I requested.

Still wearing the same grin the boy nodded. "Sure, Neesan." I've never been called 'Neesan' before, but it felt nice. "Everyone come out! They're not the bad guys!"

Responding to the boy's call, all of a sudden more children came out from hiding everywhere. From behind the pillars, out of the still well trimmed bushes, sliding down from the rooftops; it was like this entire part of the Hyuuga Estate was infested with children. And all of them gathered spaciously around us, as if welcoming us. You can kind of get a picture of how astonished (or freaked out) we were.

The boy then took my hand. "Come on. We'll take you inside."

"O-Okay." Walking with the boy, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke went to follow as the rest of the small children trailed behind in a small parade. Aside from the slow but rapid footsteps, silence was instilled in our large crowd, either out of respect or to prevent any likely attention from the undead from coming our way.

The inside of the Hyuuga Estate was only expected: spacious, simple but luxurious, and no signs of any living dead. Then for the first time in a while I felt alright. Walking through the manor I couldn't help but pretend in my mind I was in some field trip in some museum where you couldn't touch anything. But even more so, I was nervously anxious of seeing Neji again. Just like with Shikamaru, would he remember us? Would he be happy to see us? He's alive I assume, and that should be enough for me. Yet, I still wanted more.

We always want more.

Throughout the house I saw more numbers of children here and there. Happy, without a care in the world as if ignorant of the outside's hell. _Did_ they know of the outside? Down the well lit hall we've reached a certain room with a cloth door hanging from a rail. From that point, the rest of the children scurried off, leaving me and my friends with the name-less boy who still clinged to my hand. He lead us inside the room, and from within there were two more children, sparring with martial arts well beyond their years. And their supervisor appeared to be someone with a black bowl-cut head and a green jumpsuit. Freezing at the door Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and I couldn't help but stare at the man from the back.

"What an odd fashion sense..." I muttered to myself, and I could feel the guys mentally agreeing with me.

"Gai-Sensei," the boy called. "We have guests visiting the estate."

"Is that so!" the man announced. He had a voice that would seem to fit TV, but when he turned to us with a winked eye, pearl white grin accompanied with thumbs up, our world as zombie-fighters was suddenly shattered temporarily. The feeling was similar to that of an 8.9 earthquake, and we all had the same thought fly through our heads simultaneously:

'_His eyebrows..._'

"Hm, teens," said this Gai-Sensei. "Tell me young ones! Where have you come from?"

"Um, T-Tokyo..." I answered on our behalf. I doubted the guys would've replied as quickly.

"They're looking for Neji," the boy told him.

"You're acquaintances of my Neji?" he gasped in pure astonishment before retaining total and serious calmness. "How intriguing." I prayed to death this guy wasn't Neji's father. "Neji isn't here right now but you're welcome to stay and wait. Come! To the kitchen! We shall brew up some tea!" Marching past us and out of the room, the guys' faces remained the same, though I don't think anyone seemed to notice. I tried to think of something to say but nothing appeared to come to mind.

"_Say..." _Naruto whispered creepily to the boy/our guide. "_Is that guy always like that? Don't tell me he's in charge_..."

"You mean Gai-Sensei? Well, he is the only adult in the house so in a way I guess he is in charge."

Naruto's head hung low. "Oh."

"But since this is Neji's house and he makes up all the rules, all of us look up to him the most."

"Is that so," I sighed. The boy looked up at me, and I wore a happy smile. So this is what Neji's been up to all this time.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and I were seated at the Hyuuga dining room as the strange man called it. It was small, but there were only four of us, plus Gai as our current host. The four of us were sitting on the ground with a small wooden table, a tea tray set down in the center for us as an offering.

"This is a special kind of tea we don't make very often, but seeing as we have new faces around the house I think it counts as an occasion," Gai said, seating himself at the head of the table on the floor.

"No, thank you this is very kind," I said once again, speaking on all our behalf. As I drank the tea from my cup I couldn't help but think negative thoughts about the guys. '_Those idiots. They could at least talk. They always scream and argue in the van and of all times now they shut up and leave the small talk to me_.'

"So how do you guys know Neji?" asked Gai, suddenly in a very calm, un-over enthusiastic voice.

"We came from Tokyo," Sasuke started first, taking a sip from his cup. "We're old acquaintances."

"Basically we just wanted to see how he was!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, but then his energy suddenly depleted into one of embarassment. "You know, with the attack of the undead and whatnot. Heh."

"Smooth," Shikamaru whispered as he drank his tea.

"Well I'll have you know that Neji is doing just fine," Gai approved, not seeming to take in any suspicion of us. "He's actually welcomed all of us into his home during the beginning of the crisis, as hard as that would be to believe."

I arched an eyebrow. "Exactly how did everyone end up on the Hyuuga Estate, anyhow?" I was expected a living or dead Neji, not a bunch of tribal kids and this... man.

Gai appeared to go into a state of nostalgic reminicing, glancing up with a cliche and proud look on his face. "It started on the eve of the day it all started. Originally the Hyuuga Estate housed only Hyuugas of course, which consisted of Neji, his uncle, and his much younger cousin Hanabi."

"Only that much people?" Shikamaru questioned. Such a huge home that took up two sides of an entire street and it belonged to four people alone?

"The Hyuuga family is well known for it's martial arts. It's not unusual for the head family of the Hyuugas to take in relatives or even occasional students. However when the outbreak of the dead was first announced on television, the city obviously went into a state of panic."

"But everything outside looks so tranquil," I recalled. "As tranquil as things can get, anyway."

"Yes, but that's because we _anticipated_," Gai reworded. "If I'm right, many cities of Japan came under the dead's influence without warning. Nagoya was one of the few lucky ones who was able to prepare, even for a day. What happened here was that the Hyuuga compound seemed like a suitable place to reside in. A safe haven - somewhere people could hide during the attack. However Neji's smart. He knows that he had only limited resources to support himself and the few select he choose to hide with him."

"Few select?" Naruto repeated, not hesitating to pour more of his own tea.

"Two friends of his, and me as well! As one of his old mentors naturally he allowed me to stay! Hahahahaha!" What a likely sounding story. "Initially it was just going to be the four of us, but as you can see that changed."

"The three of you..." Sasuke restated. "What happened to the family?"

Gai sighed. "Unfortunately at the time Neji's family was out. They never came back." That came to me as no surprise, and it was _truly_ sad that it didn't. "Then when the residents heard that Neji's home had room, they came to him for help. Naturally he declined to take anyone in besides us. As cold-hearted as it seemed, you must understand he only did so for our good. I don't think anyone could've made that decision but him. And without the family, he was in charge of his own home. Who he let in was his choice, and there was nothing we could do about it."

"And the kids?"

"Well if you four know Neji as well as I do, then you know he's not _that _cold hearted. One of the men begged Neji continuously to at least take in his child, a little girl asleep in her father's arms and oblivious to the upcoming dangers. Neji didn't have the heart to leave her out to die, so once he took in the child, he had no choice but to accept the others."

"So he just took in all the children?" I asked with astonishment.

"As many as they came," Gai shrugged. "There were dozens of children brought to the compound. In the end it turned out to be at least a little over three hundred."

Naruto, of course, spit out his tea. Slamming the fragile cup onto the table he faced the big-browed man with bulging eyes. "Over three hundred kids that jerk took in?" I had the brains to cover his mouth and shove him backwards.

Luckily Gai didn't seem to notice the rude gesture. "The estate is huge in case you haven't noticed, so housing them all wouldn't be much of a problem, and supporting ourselves isn't as hard as you'd think it'd be. Neji and his two friends have taken it upon themselves to venture out into the city to scour for supplies every now and then."

"What about the zombie attacks?" I questioned. I held down a cough too, which resulted with a small 'clearing of my throat' sound.

"Ah those rarely happen anymore," Gai said with a wave of his hand. "According to Neji the city's practically abandoned now. We used to have a bunch of those things coming at the estate in the beginning, so we usually hid the children under the floorboards through a crawl space. And for a while that was the routine. Eventually we managed to figure out you can take them out by destroying the head."

"So you guys fought," said Sasuke.

"Me and Neji and his two friends," Gai replied. "They're a good bunch to have around. Phenomenous fighters. Most of the undead they came across they said were a lot of the townspeople they knew. So after finally decapitating almost everyone in the city, they laid them to rest in an open area somewhere near the borders of the city. Pre-tty cool huh?" I sweatdropped. Was 'cool' really the right term for the situation?

"Well that explains this place's ghost town status," Naruto figured out.

"Yes, indeed. The city's so barren it's almost safe to go outside and assume there won't be any zombies around."

"So are there?"

"Occasionally yes, but it's a rare case. Maybe one or two a week. Neji's taken it upon himself to decide to train the older kids to defend themselves so that perhaps they could someday go back out into the world. It's a beautiful dream!"

"R-Right..." I sweatdropped again as the man shed tears in the form of two mini waterfalls.

All of a sudden we heard something of a stampede of footsteps outside down the hall. From the hanging cloth door the same young boy from before outside appeared. "Neji, Lee, and Tenten are back!" he announced. Seeing me, the boy grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, Neesan! Let's go see what they brought!"

"Well-I-okay?" It wasnt long until I found myself in a river of swarming children,be being dragged into it. They were all heading in the same direction, taking the same turns.

After a short run down the patio and into the bigger house, we arrived in the main room, about the size of a gym. Inside the room almost all of the children had seated themselves down on the floor in an orderly fashion, like a class expecting their teacher. I felt so strange, like an outsider who had no idea what was going on. It was like I was suddenly sucked into some television program which featured a tribe of children with their own customary traditions, this being one of them.

Through the open door some of the older kids walked in holding boxes, however the well-noticeable teenagerss who appeared to be in charge walked in last wore welcoming grins on their faces. One was a brunette girl with her hair in buns, carrying two large boxes on top of each other. "Sorry we're late! We found a load of stuff down by the docks."

"WE HAVE FOUND CAKE!" another voice preached, rushing into the house right past the girl and stopping at the center of the room with a trail of dust disappearing behind him. His speed was so remarkable that I barely even saw him enter, but unlike most of the others who carried boxes, the boy (who looked _oddly_ similar to Gai) held a large transparent box taller than half his height with a multi-layer cake inside. Some of the colored frosting was smudged against it's plastic cover, but I guess it was still cake nonetheless. Just as the bowl-cut boy announced his cake, the entire room fell into cheers, like it was Santa with one giant present for all.

"You know Lee, bringing that was totally unnecessary," the brunette girl sweatdropped, putting down her two boxes.

"Oh but Tenten, this masterpiece couldn't be left to waste! There was no way I could just leave it there to rot!"

"It's a baked good not a person," sweatdropped a third voice, walking in with a box of his own. Wearing such an agitated face I could only recognize that teen as one other person.

"Neji."

"Hey guys help us with these and take them into the storage house," the brunette girl ordered as much of the children went on to help out. It was a well-organized system I had to admit, but amongst the busy running children I just stood there like a broad idiot, starring at my long-lost friend. He had grown taller, more masculine. Last I recalled he was very quiet and average height (average height meaning my height at the time). His hair had only grown out longer, and his voice deeper as well. His face was no longer the innocent little boy-look even Naruto and Sasuke once worn. Like them, Neji's face had grown more structured, angled. Like the others, he had grown up.

Neji glanced up, seeing the pink head standing out from the rushing crowd. He narrowed his pale eyes at first before standing up straight as if to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "It couldn't be."

"Neji! This girl says she knows you!" shouted the boy still holding onto my hand. Suddenly guiding me forward, the two of us made our way to the head of the room past the sea of children. Neji maneuvered around the piling boxes until we were both in front of each other. The two of us looked relatively the same: surprised to see each other.

"Sakura?" he finally said.

To avoid the typical cheesy 'I haven't seen you in years' anime scene I held back my jovial tears and merely gave a simple smile. "It's good to see you're well, Neji." I couldn't express just how happy I was to see him alright.

"What are you doing here? How'd you-"

"It's a long story," I interjected, not really wanting to get into that. Just thinking about the guys and their crazed antics only gave me a migraine. "It's just, so good to see you that's all!"

"Don't tell me you came here all on your own."

"Oh no I had the others with me."

"'The others'."

As of on cue the guys came rushing in, all entering the room with tired breaths. Even Gai himself looked exhausted from the run. "Sakura slow down. We might loose you in here," Naruto panted. However looking up and seeing Neji and me, his calm and mindless expression seemed unfazed. "N-Neji?" So at least I wasn't the only one surprised. "DUDE YOU OWE ME FIFTEEN FRICKIN BUCKS NOW PAY UP, HYUUGA! BECAUSE OF YOU THAT MIROTA KID BEAT ME UP FOR NOT HAVING ANY MONEY WHEN HE MUGGED ME DURING RECESS SO I DON'T WANNA HEAR ANY OF YOUR DAMN CRAPPY EXCUSES YA HEAR ME!" Way to ruin it all, Naruto. Way. to. go.

"You traveled half-way across the country to get fifteen dollars."

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT RICH BOY NOW PAY UP!"

"_I owe you money_. Is that so because I remember it being the other way around."

"ARGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH THIS GUY IRRITATED ME, TOO!"

"Naruto I think _everyone_ irritated you," I glared. Bothered by a weird feeling in my throat I coughed a bit again. "S-Sorry about Naruto, Neji. We've been traveling for a while and-" All of a sudden I felt something stroke my hand, and glancing down Neji and I both slowly caught glimpse of the bowl-cut boy who too had just as bushy eyebrows as Gai. What _is _it with these people? And where did this guy come off holding my hand all of a sudden without me noticing? "Uh..."

"Beautiful...!" He cried with an easily noticeable passion. "Your eyes sparkle like the world's last emeralds! And your hair reflects the light of the cherry trees in bloom on a spring day!"

.

.

.

huh?

The guys behind at the back of the room could only stare as Sasuke gave a clearly annoyed glance, much similarly as to how when they first met Gai. "He's even worse than Naruto," Shikamaru remarked, only for the overhearing blond to grow an anime vein.

"_Lee..." _Neji pressed with a vein over his head as well.

With a wink of an eye and a thumbs up, 'Lee' gave an all too well known grin that I was starting to get real tired off. "Please be my girlfriend!"

Then if to not add onto the series of weird events, the teen was suddenly struck over the head with a frying pan by the now aggressive brunette girl. "You idiot, quit scaring people! You don't just walk up to girls and ask them such a question out of no where!"

"Good call on the frying pan," Neji said with a scratch on the back of his neck. "I apologize for Lee. He's, a special case."

"Believe me I know how it feels," I stated, thinking of Naruto and his past antics.

The brunette holding the frying pan starred back and forth between Neji and me, lost and confused at our meeting. Suddenly she stood straight up and towards me arched over, her frying pan over her shoulder. "Say, you don't happen to be an old friend of Neji's, do you?"

"Neji had friends?"

BANG. "Quiet, Lee," the agitated brunette ordered. 'Lee' gabbed his throbbing head in a ringing pain, gritting his teeth from the impact of the pan.

"Um," I didn't quite know how to respond to that. Neji and us were friends still... right?

"I'll show you to your rooms then!" she beamed with an unusual cheerful smile. Oblivious to my unsure and probably scared expression she took my hand with one of her own, and keeping close the pan in her other hand she led me across the room and away from the bushy-eyebrowed boy and Neji. Before exiting the room my new guide turned her head to Sasuke and the others. "You guys are coming too, right?"

"Uh, y-yeah," Naruto answered on their behalf. All of a sudden we were all living-guests at the Hyugga Compound.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It wasn't long until I found out the girl's name was Tenten. She was actually pretty nice, no scratch that, super kind. Ever since Shikamaru's mentioned that negative notion about the word 'nice' I felt the urge to keep from using it in context. Along our walk through the house Tenten had shown me my own private room. It was small, but enough to accomodate one person. The room across was somewhat larger and would house Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru, she said.

With Tenten setting up a small rolling mattress on the floor, a futon as she calls it, as a guest she had me sit to rest while she prepared the room. "We really appreciate you taking us in on such short notice," I said, feeling guilty for having her set up the room for me while I just watched. It wasn't exactly something I was really used to, but then again, I'd probably be doing the same thing if I were a hostess.

"It's no biggie," she assured, dusting off a good pillow from the closet. Suddenly my dry throat had flared up, and without warning I began to give a short coughing session. I tried to conceal it or force myself to stop, but it was taking a while. Tenten crawled over concerned. "Hey are you okay?"

Finally I stopped. "Yeah yeah I'm good. I probably just came down with something on the road." Breathing normally, I tried to change the subject. "Are you guys always this welcoming to new people?"

"Probably not," she admitted with a guilty grin. "But seeing the look on Neji's face, you guys must've had _some_ affect on him. And he didn't look like he was going to fight you or anything so the only thing left to assume was that you guys were his friends." She turned her head to me. "Am I right?"

"Wow," I said amazed. "How'd you know?"

"People's faces make things so obvious. It may be just me, though. Neji's called me weird in the past for always knowing peoples feelings. He called me annoying once for it too but," she giggled. "Neji's my friend, too."

"Is that so." I never pictured Neji being friends with someone as positive as Tenten. Sure there was our little group of odd-people in our Tokyo Elementary days, but we never really got to know much about his life before he transferred in, much less what happened to him after he transferred out. "You must be one of the people Gai said Neji took in."

Her consistent patting on the unused pillow slowed down until she came to a halt. Placing it down on the sleeping mat she turned her whole sitting-self towards me, as if we were about to have a whole serious conversation. "We may not look it, but Neji, Lee, and I are pretty much all we have for one another." She glanced down as she brought up her knees to her chest. "Lee's actually a pretty good martial artist, and he trained here at the Hyuuga Compound for years. He and Neji have probably known each other as rivals for who knows how long." Well that would explain Neji's odd old mentionings of an annoying boy in a green jump suit of whom Naruto used to remind him of back in his old home.

"What about you? High school girlfriend or something? Close friend?" I asked.

She appeared to scoff in rebuttle. "Not even. In fact, I don't think we were even that close friends until this whole disaster came up." A small gentle smile appeared on her face as she told her story. "I live right outside the Hyuuga Compound, in a house with a broken installed lake in the ground. In a way Neji's always been my neighbor, and we would always pass each other going to and from school when we were little. Then when he moved away and came back, it all seemed to happen all over again. We always saw each other but never once did we touch." She laughed a little. "Strange, huh? How there are so many people packed into such a compact city yet no one ever talks to another person. You always just pass by without a single glance. You just stare at the ground, or look like you're busy on your phone or something." I felt sad to say she was right. "And yet here we all are, all the strangers from one city all living under one roof as a family, thanks to the person who I least expected this all from."

"Neji?"

Tenten nodded solemnly. "Lee, Neji, and I have taken it upon ourselves to make sure these kids are safe. It's kind of like fate, when I look at it. Lee's a real martial arts expect second only to Neji, and Neji's like the doctor of the place, so he takes care of anyone who's hurt."

"Neji's played the doctor," I repeated. "Really?"

"He told me he was going to take up nursing after high school. By now I don't really know how that'll turn out, but out of everyone in the house he seems to be the only one who knows what he's doing when it comes to medical stuff. What medicines to give the kids, what medications they need, how to heal wounds. It's scary sometimes to imagine if he wasn't here." No kidding. "Then there's... me who just, does the cooking and some heavy lifting. I'm usually against women's housework but, there really isn't anyone else to do it. Neji, Lee, and Gai-Sensei are all horrible cooks."

"I'm sure they're not that bad-"

Her face was suddenly dark and grim. "Whatever they offer you, don't eat it."

"R-Right," I sweatdropped. Was it really that terrible? "So uh, what's the story with Lee?" I asked for a change of subject. "No offense but I never would've expected Neji to be friends with someone like Lee."

"Me, neither," she laughed, finding amusement in our similar opinions. "To be honest, those two are probably the closest of friends, brothers even." The look on my face must have been unbelievable. She only stifled a laugh at my reaction. "I'm serious. Despite me and Neji being neighbors, we never really talked. Then Neji and Lee have known each other since they were little, as sparring partners."

"Sparring partners?"

"Mhm," Tenten nodded. "Lee's one of the few students that train under the Hyuugas. Gai Sensei apparently is a close family friend with the head Hyuugas, so when Lee first met him here I guess he kinda idolized Gai somehow and ended up trying to be just like him."

"So he hasn't always had that hair cut..."

After a short silence we had both once again erupted into a series of girlish laughter. It's been so long since I've had any time with any girls, having spent so many laborious and torturous hours with the guys. I had to admit I kind of missed this. "But yeah, that's how we all ended up together."

"So the three of you are real close together now huh?"

"I guess we are," she toned down, reflecting on her words. "Lee can be a bit much but he's really dedicated to the kids here. And Neji's just amazing as a friend. I didn't really think he'd take me in when all this started."

"How did he end up letting you stay...?" I said in a just as quiet tone. I felt strange and guilty, strangely guilty. In a way I felt like I was prying after she told me so much already.

Similar to me some days, she wore the same nostalgic, sorrowful smile on her face. "My parents were always worry-warts about this whole zombie thing when the news reached the city. Being me I couldn't help but be a little skeptic." She put up a trying grin, much like how I would when I tried to fake-smile through things. "Basically in the end Neji just ended up taking me in our of pity, I guess." With that response I didn't really know what to say to her. "But enough about me and the house. How about you and your friends? I bet you guys came a long way coming here, trying to find Neji and all."

I nodded, somewhat proud that we've gotten this far, _alive_. "We were all childhood friends. When Neji lived in Tokyo we kind of latched onto him somehow. Heh, I can still remember how we all ended up becoming friends." In reality, how we managed to befriend the upperclassman was that during recess, the kids were usually given things to play with - jump ropes, hula-hoops, dodge balls, you know, kid stuff. At the time I think, well to us at least, all the upperclassmen were complete jerks. They though they could push us kids around just because they were a grade higher. It wasn't uncommon for them to cut you in line for the water fountain or rob you of your lunch money (coughcoughNarutocoughcough).

One day during recess while the guys, with Ino included, and me were playing in our elementary school courtyard, the grade above us was playing catch with one of the dodge balls. Some jerkface purposely went to throw the ball at one of the guys with us for bullying, but it ended up smacking me in the face instead.

As a side note, it was NEVER cool to any grade to pick on girls, let alone younger girls.

When I hit the ground and started crying, _do not laugh_, the guys and Ino naturally went to my aid. It was Sasuke in the end though who was told by the teachers to escort me to the nurse's office. I ended up with a black eye from the hit, and being little girl I found that a _very_ big deal, as did Sasuke at the time. It was hidden with an ice pack and all, but that was when Neji came into the nurse's office, too. Sasuke and I both knew him as one of the older kids in the grade ahead of us playing ball at the courtyard, and naturally Sasuke went in front of me on the nurse's chair as a wall between me and the then stranger, Neji.

However instead, Neji apologized on behalf of his 'stupid' friends who all ran away the instant I got smacked in the head with the ball. Neji was the only one who stayed behind and got blamed for it, so he was told by the principal to go apologize to me personally. Naturally you'd think a forced apology for kids wouldn't really mean much, but despite Sasuke's appreciated protectiveness of me, I accepted it. I was naive of course, but I couldn't help but feel at the time that his apology was really sincere. And I knew too that he wasn't the one who threw the ball in my face.

I accepted his apology and along the lines started following him around during recess, much to the concern of my already then same-grade friends. Then somehow, I ended up growing onto Neji until the others were able to accept him just as much as I did, getting over the fact he was 'an upper classmen transfer student'. That injury ended up being one of the key-factors of my wonderful life.

Until the zombie apocalypse started anyhow. That's not that wonderful.

As Tenten awaited my answer, I merely responded with this. "He's a really cool guy once you get to know him, but I guess you should already know that."

"I do," she nodded assuringly. "I don't know if I can ever repay him for letting me stay, though." Her face was distraught, as well as her voice. I held back the urge to ask if she was okay or if she wanted to tell me something, and I ended up biting my tongue too hard that I ended up biting my lip to prevent screaming. "I'll let you get some rest now. I still have to help the guys with their room across the hall."

"Tell them hi for me," I bidded as she respectfully left my room and slid the door shut. Being alone for the first time in, um, ever, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of... I want to say relief and not satisfaction, but I couldn't think of a word. Must've escaped my mind. With a quick cough and clear of my throat I fell back onto my newly set futon bed. I felt it's softness cushioning my back, compared to the hard cold metallic floors on which I'd sleep on in the van with three other dudes. Despite my suddenly dry throat I felt at heaven. "Maybe I should relax a bit this time." And without a moment' hesitation I let myself drift into another sleep that I most likely wouldn't come across again, or at least in a while.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

With his new guests currently settling in, the head teen Hyuuga was currently overseeing the dinner prep in the downstairs basement room (which was formerly a storage room according to Lee), which more or less was nothing than just tables and chairs. It was a daily routine that all the kids in the estate eat at least one meal together for the same of being a family. At the moment Naruto and I were on our way right now to the said room.

"So how do you like it here so far?" I asked, a semi-wet towel over my head. I had just finished having a short but luxurious bath in the hot spring house at the back of the manor. Nonetheless my throat still felt dry. "Still suspicious?"

"Just of the outside," Naruto replied, always having his guard up, even during dinner. "Neji told me that he trains the older kids to face those zombies out there."

"There's nothing wrong with that. You honestly expect Neji, Tenten, and Lee to support everyone in here alone?"

"It's just weird, that's all," he shrugged. "It's strange enough thinking of us killing the dead on a nearly daily basis. We're teenagers. We're supposed to be worrying about college and money and zits. Picturing us risking our lives out there on a daily basis is something but seeing kids even younger than us doing the same was almost nonexistent in my mind until we came here." That was probably one of the deepest things I've ever heard him say out loud.

"Wow," I said as my reaction. "I never thought I'd hear something like that from you out of all people."

He looked rather offended by that accusation, but pretended not to notice. "What happened just then stays with us," he said grimly.

I stifled a laugh as I lowered my towel around my neck. "Sure."

"Sasuke would never let me live it down if-"

"If what? If you said you cared about the kids?" I grinned, stepping in front of the blond, walking backwards. "I think it's real sweet, Naruto. Really"

"S-Sakura..." My compliment appeared to have affected the teenage boy to the extent he had started to turn red in the face, either from embarrassment or something else.

Apparently I didn't notice that either. Go figure. Nearing the door to the basement/dining room, I extended my arms to open the doorway. "Anyway, time for food, relaxation, and-" Upon opening the doors, in front of me was not a simple cellar basement of poor staring children, but something resembling a large underground gym with long tables and rusty foldable metal chairs. Kids of all ages were scattered around the large 'room' as Lee and Gai served some cooked food from the table upfront. The kids were lined up, trays and utensils scattered everywhere like dust.

At the moment the scene was almost so normal seeming it was so... scary. "W-What the..." I couldn't bring myself to finish what I was going to say. It slipped my mind in my stare.

"It's like school again," Naruto frowned, somewhat annoyed. "Look there's even a line." The line was even more depressing. It stretched all the way across the room against the low ceiling walls. "The only thing I liked about this whole solo-kill-the-dead gig was eating whatever we had whenever we want. Now I have to _wait_."

"Well go get on line and get me food," I ordered, pushing the blond ahead until he disappeared on his way into the crowd of kids. Naruto wouldn't cut little kids for his food. "At least I don't think he would," I finished out loud.

Not really caring at the moment whether he would get in trouble or not I went to scour the cafeteria-like room. It was a familiar atmosphere. With almost everyone wearing similar Hyuuga robes it was almost like your usual uniformed school during lunch period. Everyone was so calm, carefree, like kids should be. They live like nothing's happened on the outside, acting as if they weren't orphans whose parents hadn't died for their sake. I wondered if some were oblivious to that fact, blissfully naive.

Kind of makes me wish I was.

Realizing I was heading no where, I felt myself cough again. I figured I was maybe coming down with something. I don't really get sick too often, and maybe not at all. But then my breathing suddenly grew weak and my legs gave out. I fell to my knees near the wall and my hand went to my mouth as my coughing started again. I could feel some stares where I couldn't see, and I couldn't help but feel like one of those old people having a moment in their weakening health, but at the moment that was just what it appeared to be. The situation wasn't quite assuring to me either when I started to feel a heavy liquid seeping through my hands. Blood.

I heard a set of rushing footprints coming through the crowd of kids starting to form behind me, and before I knew it a pair of strong hands had cupped my shoulders from the side. "Sakura! Sakura what happened?" It was Sasuke's voice. I knew his voice, but the concern and vulnerability in his tone was a stranger to me.

I wanted to reply that I was okay, but obviously that wasn't the case, nor could I have said anything at the moment with how much my throat was burning, and how much blood I was throwing up. I could only imagine Sasuke's position. Lost, confused, wondering what happened. That was more or less me, I think.

Another person came up in front of me and turned me slightly towards him. Neji. He lifted my face and began checking things like my eyes and my temperature. However his and Sasuke's calling voices began to drift and fade away until my sight became blurry, and I felt as if I had fallen asleep by force. The last physical feeling I was able to remember was falling side ways and into the arms of someone. Sasuke most likely, but by now I didn't have that much effort to think about it.


	10. Down Time Up

**Hurricane Irene's been so hectic. We worry, we don't worry. Blabablablaba. And so as I hoard myself in my room with bags of junk food and books, here's the long awaited chapter!**

**Again, sorry for it being so long ;-;**  
**I'm saying taht every chapter now aren't I**

**Nonetheless with school coming up soon, hopefully I can still write. Being a junior's gonna be so much fun ^^ We get to skip lunch period to line up for college pamhlets! Joy! T_T I dun wanna grow up...**

**Well, hope you like this one! Til next time, guys! Review please!**

* * *

Waking up, I felt like I was in a total daze. Everything felt blurry from my sight to my hearing and to my breathing. However, remembering my scene in the cafeteria, I wasn't surprised anymore. In fact I wondered just how I ended up here... What's 'here' again?

I found myself was lying on a mattress on the floor, a thin blanket covering my body from the chest down. My short pink hair felt sprawled out on the soft pillow under my head, moist from sweat. And a frail light illuminated the new room from afar. "What the..."

I tried to sit up, which thankfully wasn't too much a problem, but it was then I noticed a countless number of other futons scattered across the room in an almost orderly fashion. Rows of beds in long lines, all set and made with a pillow and folded cover. Aside from me where was a small number of other children in the spacious room, all settled and resting as well, probably in the same position I was, hopefully not as bad anyway.

"You're awake," said a small frail voice. Turning my head around to the right of my resting space was another little girl, resting in her own bed. Her's was located right beside mine, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed her sooner. She seemed ill by the look on her pale face. Tired, too. But nonetheless she seemed pleased by my awakened presence. "That's good. The others seemed really worried about you."

"There were others," I repeated, meaning to have said it in a questioning tone.

"The heads of the house: Neji, Lee, and Tenten," the little girl stated. "Something really bad must've happened to you. You didn't look to good when you were brought in."

"When'd I get here?"

"Just a few hours ago." She says that like it's been a short while. "I've never seen someone sleep so long before." Then she appeared to glance up towards the ceiling. "I can't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Too bored, I guess." She smiled fraily once more. "There was someone else, too - a boy with black hair and eyes."

First thing that came to mind: "Sasuke?"

"I think that's what Neji called him," she nodded, but only once. "He stayed with you the longest, sitting at you bedside, holding your hand."

I blinked dubiously and starred rediculously at my hand, not knowing if it was the right one. "He held my hand," I repeated in disbelief. If anything I cant picture Sasuke doing it's that.

She nodded once again. "He fell asleep for a while, too. But he left a little bit ago. My older brother stopped by, too."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, my nichan, Naya." She looked happy, proud, in a uh, weak looking way. "He's one of the house guards training under Neji. He'll be turning thirteen in two more months."

I stared at the girl's face for a long time. Imagining her pale skin somewhat more tan and her hair somewhat more set, I saw the image of the little boy from before when I first came across the Hyuuga Compound. "So that's your brother?" I asked almost in complete astonishment. I don't know why. Either way I tried to keep my volume level to a low. Come to think of it, it was only now that I learned his name. Naya. Realizing what she said I smiled, too. "So your brother came to visit me, too."

She nodded. "He seems real fond of you, like how he is around Neji."

I laid myself back down. I found it better for my headache if my head was on the soft pillow. "All of you guys really look up to Neji, don't you."

The little girl grinned proudly, as much as her health would allow. "He took all of us in without even knowing us. How could we not?" It so astounding how mature all the kids were. If anything, they probably had a better grasp on the zombie apocalypse situation than most adults survivors ever could. "So what's your name, Neechan?"

I loved how her brother and her called me that. "Sakura."

"Sakura neechan," she recited, liking how it sounded. "My name is Rita." Aw man she's so cute ^^

Meanwhile, the rest of the occupants of the Hyuuga Estate kept busy. Sunset was just about over, and the darkness of the entire city would be setting in soon. Routine preparations were made by those who knew what to do, and that was almost a majority of just about everybody. Scheduled guards were set up at their posts near the borders of the compound, and the younger children ran to their given bedrooms for curfew. It was almost like a self-run orphanage, looking at it from the outside.

Inside one of the smaller empty dojos trained Lee and Tenten, sparing off one another near nightfall. Their agility and stamina weren't even at their limits yet. That, was their strength. "What happened to Neji? Didn't he say he'd be training with us today?" asked Lee, dodging an array of kicks being made by his female opponent.

Tenten tried a last minute ground spin kick before Lee performed a back flip, just barely missing. "He said he had a sudden meeting to attend to."

"Meeting?" Lee repeated. He didn't mean to sound shocked. "Since when does that guy ever call meetings without us?"

Tenten looked troubled, rather than curious like Lee. "It's with those new guests, the newcomers from Tokyo City." She took her turn dodging Lee's attacks, her face unchanged. "Makes you wonder what they're talking about."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"BLEH!" Naruto began coughing out all of a sudden, slamming his cup onto the small table while holding his shirt with his other hand. The blond grimaced bitterly as he wiped "Dammit Neji are you trying to kill me?"

"It's herbal tea, Naruto. You either like it or your don't like it - it isn't poison," Shikamaru stated in his normal irritated tone.

"At this point I don't really see the difference," the blond pouted, still glaring at the Hyuuga for the drink.

Neji sipped his tea from his cup more adequately than Naruto, as did Sasuke who wasn't complaining. Shikamaru, too. It was just those four guys in the secluded room around the same coffee table Gai had seated them at earlier in the day. And here they were again, a meeting requested with Neji by the three.

"So what did you guys need to talk to me about?" Neji said bluntly, knowing he'd need to be the first to speak. The unsure stares from Shikamaru, Sasuke and Naruto answered his suspicions.

"Um, Sakura first off," Naruto started awkwardly, switching off from the original topic he and Sasuke had in mind for the meeting. However Sasuke and Shikamaru didn't seem to oppose, rather curious too. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She just needed some real food back in her system. I gave her some vitamins earlier, but she should probably remain resting for a while." Neji placed his cup slowly onto the table. "Now tell me why you really called me here."

"I'm not sayin' it," Naruto called first, holding his hands up. He took the odd/accusing stares from his other two companions but he always hated bringing up this subject, as if it would be a life-changing question if ever asked. And he'd rather he not be the one to say it.

Shikamaru let out a short breath before going on. "You probably already knew this, but Sakura and us won't be staying here for very long. We'll be leaving as soon as we can, tomorrow if possible."

"Your point?"

"Isn't it obvious, genius?" Sasuke smirked, clasping his hands under his chin on his elbows once more, something he found a habit of recently. Sasuke never underestimated the Hyuuga prodigy, even when they were younger. "Will you be coming with us?"

Neji's expression remained stoic, but a look of indecisiveness drew upon his stagnant lips. "I can't say I wasn't expecting that."

"Say what?" Naruto blanked. However his obliviousness was shunned out by Sasuke's palm, covering the Uzumaki's face and quieting him down for a moment.

"And your answer?" Sasuke pestered. He didn't like this meeting any more than Naruto did, so he's rather end it quickly with fast answers. The suspense of knowing whether or not you'd ever see your friend again tends to make the most unsuspicious of people anxious. "We understand if you decide to stay here with everyone."

"We do?" Naruto muffled from behind Sasuke's hand, only for Shikamaru's palm to push down over his head, lowering Naruto.

"You know Neji, we've taken in consideration that the kids here still need you," Shikamaru pointed out. "They look up to you, they listen to you. It'd be pretty hard on them to find out you might be leaving for good."

"Are we trying to persuade him to come or what?" muttered Naruto a little too loud from where he was pushed down.

It was a short while before Neji responded to anything his companions offered him. His fists tightened under the table over his lap, though it went unnoticed by the others. "Believe it or not I truly am thinking about it," he said sincerely.

"What makes you want to come with us?" Sasuke interrogated. "Surely it's not just because you want to catch up on old times. I know you Neji. What are you really after?"

"My family," Neji answered with no holding back. Naruto, despite being held down, glanced up, while Sasuke stared with curious expression. "Obviously it wasn't just me here before everyone came to live in the House."

"Your uncle and your cousins," Naruto recalled from Gai, finally sitting back up as Shikamaru and Sasuke's hand reclined. "That's what the old-dude-version of Lee said."

"Hinata and Hanabi," Neji told, their images appearing in his mind. Their smiles, their kind eyes - traits he had not been able to inheret. "As you can probably tell by now they aren't here."

"Do you know where they are?" Sasuke asked.

Neji hesitated for a moment. "Hanabi was out with her father, my uncle. There's no telling where they could be right now."

"And the Hinata girl?" Naruto asked, scratching his head. "If she wasn't with your uncle then was she with you?"

"I wish," Neji frowned, sounding dry. "Last I heard, she was sent off to France a while back. I can only imagine how she is at this point."

"She's in...France..." Shikamaru repeated for clarification. His face spelled out 'What the hell' rather than anything relating to concern. "I know you guys are rich and all but what business does your cousin have in France of all places?"

"This is beside the point," Neji continued, easily gliding off the current topic and back to the original. "But I still want to look for Hanabi with any chance given."

"And we'll help you if we can," Sasuke assured, regardless of Neji's choice to come or not. "You have until morning to make your decision. We'll be leaving with or without your answer." The Uchiha stood up from Naruto's left side, silently excusing himself from their meeting.

"Oy oy, where do you think you're going?" Naruto called aggressively.

"None of your business."

"Is that what you have to say to me every time I ask?" With that Sasuke disappeared from the room without another word. Naruto meanwhile was left in transparent fumes that took on the form of a simple 'hmph' and an immature cross of the arms. "That guy, calling us over here only to leave before we're even done talking. Jerk. If he's just going straight to bed from here I'm gonna draw on his face in his sleep."

"He left to go check on Sakura, you dummy," said Shikamaru, as if stating the obvious was a mandatory for Naruto.

And of course he blinked in response. "O-Oh. Uh, I knew that." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Neji stared downwards at the small almost invisible spiraling smoke hovering above his tea. Thoughts of his cousin Hinata far off in such a foreign place all alone bothered him, not to mention his kid-cousin Hanabi. Was his uncle taking care of her? Had they been separated? Killed? Most likely, but if our chances of getting to the Hyuuga Compound matched up with Hanabi living, then perhaps that was enough of a spark of hope Neji needed. What kind of older cousin was he to be watching over hundreds over children rather than his own blood, who probably needed him more. "I'll be sure to give you an answer by tomorrow," Neji reported to Shikamaru, who merely nodded in response.

"After here I don't really know where we'll be going," Shikamaru admitted, catching Naruto's attention. "Kiba's the last one on _our_list at least, but he's all the way in America right now and I doubt we'll be flying all the way out there any time soon."

"Wait hold on! We really have no where else to go?" Naruto jumped up, practically forgetting that detail of their former hound-loving classmate _not_living within the confinement of Japan's borders. He could vaguely recall the scene in the library "Then where the hell are we going after this?"

"I just said. I don't know."

Another loud aggravated groan erupted from Naruto as his fingers clawed his upwards-face. "Jeez! And here I thought all we'd be doing was kicking zombie ass and having these cheesy friendship reunions! No one ever told me there could be a dead end!"

"Dead ends exist even if you can't see them, you know," Neji noted.

"Don't make snappy monk-sayings at me! You know I hated that back then and I still do now!"

"Which is why I'm saying them."

"Why don't you just argue curses and straightforward insults like a man huh!"

"Why don't you look like one, you blond midget."

Naruto fumed at the bland-and-casual looking Hyuuga. "Hey I grew several inches these last few years so you have no right to call me a midget you understand me Hyuuga!"

"I understand you're even more ignorant than I remember."

"AH HELL! HE'S JUST AS BAD AS SASUKE!"

Shikamaru watched back and forth the firing comments from Uzumaki to Hyuuga. It was moments like these he wondered if he should be mentally dead for having endured so many of Naruto's arguments, or grateful for the sense of normalcy that rarely ever occoured anymore. Nonetheless Shikamaru scratched his head as Naruto's voice flared up again. "What a drag..."

When Sasuke had left the room and slid the door closed behind him, a small brunette was visible probably two feet away from the door. Tenten stood there with a blank look on her face, starring into the shadows of the dark hall. It didn't take long for Sasuke to notice her, and he could only assume she had been eavesedropping.

"So... he'll be leaving," she whispered, indirectly to Sasuke.

"That for Neji to decide," Sasuke said in a low tone, beginning to walk past her. However he muttered one last thing in her shadow. "...You should talk to him." With that being said, Sasuke continued down the hallway, leaving the brunette to her thoughts.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I had managed to sleep a few night hours away after talking with Rika, and as a result I was now wide awake, past midnight actually. Three in the morning to be exact if the clock near the door was right. I knew I was still sick, and I knew I shouldn't have been wandering such a huge house on my own, but I was bored. Boredom, goes to show, is apparently just as dangerous as facing off alone against a dozen zombies with a ball of twine as your weapon. Completely, and utterly, hopeless.

Either way I had found entertainment in wandering into a new room not too far off that I haven't entered before during our stay. It had turned out to be a mini library, with stacks and shelves of books everywhere ranging from old magazines to dictionaries to novels and to mangas. Leave it to Neji to have a room like this somewhere on the compound.

Nonetheless I decided to indulge myself in what the room had to offer. I had taken enjoyment in seeing the dusty book collection, going through cover after cover. There was an unsorted pile of mangas in the corner - probably form the kids who had been reading them recently. And the air had that nostalgic dust-smelling smell to it, too.

Despite the small size of the room, it reminded me somewhat of the giant old library back in school, the one where Sasuke, Naruto, and I first started out. Being anywhere with books just made me think back to those nostalgic times. It feels like it's been so long since then, years even, when in reality it was probably only about three weeks around. Was that long? Or short? I couldn't exactly pin point that.

Meanwhile for me, the most recent find in the amber shelves was a scrap book of some sort, full of thick black pages with photographs pasted onto it. I perfered these over those 'modern' albums with the plastic slots. This seemed more authentic to me, more preserving. Looking through it made me feel a little nosy, though. It was a Hyuuga memory book from what I observed. And I could tell from their strangely identical eyes. Almost every person in each photograph held Neji's eyes. I never knew _all_ Hyuugas shared that trait, but it would seem that was the case.

Nearing the middle of the book I saw a small picture of three kids. There was a toddler, just barely standing, then two kids on both sides holding the little toddler's hand. One I could easily recognize as Neji. The other, a girl, looked more fragile, but happy too. Short trimmed hair with hime bangs, along with the same eyes - though that was no longer a surprise. The little toddler had the same eyes, too. Relatives?

"He must be worried about his family, too..." I muttered, unable to keep it within the confidence of my mind. I turned the page again, finding more pictures of Neji, a majority of them with adults. Though there was one with us, the original seven of us. I chuckled to myself when I saw it, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the same photograph to compare with. It was that old picture I had kept in our old school library, my personal favorite of us as kids. Neji had the same copy, it would seem. Except his wasn't folded and wrinkled with a spot of blood on the corner. A small content sigh escaped my lips as I held onto my picture and the book.

"Good morning."

"Ah!" I almost fell backwards if it wasn't for the moonlight from the window showing me it was just Sasuke at the doorway. My face scrunched up, like a child's who was caught in a game of hide and seek. "Don't creep up on me like that!"

"Sorry," he laughed. At least sound like you mean it. He came over and sat down next to me on the dust-covered floor, looking over at my find. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you be patronizing Naruto to do the same?"

"Touche," Sasuke gave. "But I think I left that to Neji and Shikamaru.."

"Ah, so he is still awake," I nodded slowly. "I thought I could hear his voice but I couldn't tell if it was Naruto or a kid."

He chuckled before saying something else. "So what are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep." I folded up my old picture again and placed it back in my robe pocket. My school uniform was currently being washed, again. Tenten had offered to give me new clothes so I could finally throw my uniform away, but I couldn't bring myself to part with it yet. It was kind of in the same way Sasuke and Naruto hadn't gotten rid of their school jackets. Then again, I bet jackets looked a lot cooler to wear fighting zombies than a sailor shirt and a long flying skirt. "And you?" I asked to Sasuke.

He didn't respond at first. "I heard something. Apparently it was just you."

Suddenly a playful smirk came upon my face. "Nuh-uh, you went to check up on me again in the ward, didn't you."

"Keep dreaming."

"I could've been dreaming, or was it you who was switching the wet cloths on my forehead and making sure I kept my blankets over my shoulders." I didn't know when teasing Sasuke suddenly became so much fun, especially since it actually worked. "Can you say, _fake sleeping_?"

"Don't be so full of yourself," frowned Sasuke, avoiding any straightforward answers. "Someone needed to keep an eye on you and the others were busy."

I turned the page in the book on my lap. "... Thanks though," I said with a sure nod. "For taking care of me."

"Don't you go getting the wrong idea, either." But I smiled nonetheless. "Anyway you shouldn't be snooping through Neji's stuff."

"Yeah, say that seven minutes after catching me red handed," I murmured with a face. "And if that's how you feel then why don't you stop snooping too, looking over my shoulder and looking at the book like I am." I adverted my attention back to the photographs. There were some more of Neji's childhood. "Besides, it's harmless just looking through. Not like there's some big secret he's hiding." Just as I was about to finally give into the guilt of looking through Neji's personal photo book, I finally came across something attention-grabbing besides the last photo. "Never mind I lied."

"That's Neji right?"

"Of course it's Neji," I nodded. "And... Tenten?" There was one single page with one single picture on it, glued right to the center of the black page. Neji looked just about the age he was when he first transferred to Tokyo. Neji and Tenten - they were arm in arm, wearing what appeared to be a kimono and a yukata at a festival. I could recognize Tenten anywhere with her hair buns. And while her arm latched around Neji's, she was holding a rubber-water yoyo in her free hand while Neji was, smiling?

Sasuke was looking over, too, and he gave a short whistle. "Wow, so he does have the nerve to get a girl."

Pow. Wtih a vein over my pink head my fist hovered over Sasuke's shoulder where I had just hit him. "Quit sounding like some spoiled player. And look closely." I pointed my finger at the picture. "They're friends here, _together_."

Sasuke rubbed his shoulder, moving it around to try and get it back to its right feeling. "Your point, private eye?"

"Tenten told me they never spoke together when they were little," I mentioned quietly, more to myself than to the confused Sasuke. I stared more down at the picture before turning it, then back again. "But this picture..."

"_In a way Neji's always been my neighbor, and we would always pass each other going to and from school when we were little. Then when he moved away and came back, it all seemed to happen all over again. We always saw each other but never once did we touch." She laughed a little. "Strange, huh? How there are so many people packed into such a compact city yet no one ever talks to another person."_

I felt Sasuke push himself up to stand, and I angled my head to look at him. "Don't pry too much into this. This is their business, not ours. And I highly doubt now is the perfect time to play cupid."

"I am not," I denied with a pout, seeing him walk away. "Now where're you going?"

"Back to bed?" he answered as if it were obvious. At the door frame he turned back to me. "Which is what you should do, too. You're still sick in case you've forgotten.

"I know," I pouted. "I'll go back to bed in a little."

"You better." As Sasuke's voice faded out, I smiled a little to myself, a little happy he was looking out for me. With a sigh I turned the album back to that picture of the original seven children, us, and I sent a wide grin down towards it. I love how happy it can make me. Nonetheless, I took Sasuke's advice and went on back to the medical ward to get that sleep everyone keeps telling me to get. Upon entering I noticed Tenten present, near Rita's bed. From where I stood it looked like she was feeding medicine to Rita, who took it bitterly yet without complaint.

"You need to keep your stress down, Rita," I overheard. I also manage to catch a sob, from Rita? "Your brother will be fine. Don't cry now."

"B-But... what if he gets hurt?"

"Is she okay?" I said without thinking.

Tenten turned her head around, caught off guard. But she put up a front smile I couldn't differentiate as assuring or fake. "She's okay. Just woke up from a nightmare."

I knelt down next to Rita's bed, near Tenten. "Rita are you alright?"

Rita sniffled, and for probably the first time since I've met her, I finally saw her for what she was - a little girl. "I-I want my big brother."

"Your brother's busy doing his shift for the night," Tenten stated, trying to sound as gentle as possible from the tone of her voice. "It's only for a couple hours." Rita cried some more afterwards, and Tenten took the time to explain to me. "Stress is what gets to Rita if she isn't careful. Even nightmares if they bother her enough can be dangerous for her health."

"That bad huh?" I couldn't help my frown, but I saw it made no difference. "Does this happen often?"

Tenten nodded, and looking at her, my mind drifted back to that picture I saw of her and Neji. And with that, there seemed to be something off about her. Like something had disturbed her. "What about you? Are you alright?"

She merely looked up. "Yeah. Why?"

'_So calm._' "Nothing! You just, look distracted that's all."

The way she looked at me made me nervous, like I had done something I wasn't supposed to. She didn't look accusing, but it wasn't comforting either. Remembering Rita's silent sobbing in the background, Tenten voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Can we talk in private, Sakura?"

Sound normal! "Um, yeah, sire, o-okay." Standing up, which was partially harder on my behalf (still sick) we left the ward and just right outside into the dark abandoned halls. I wondered how comfortable I had to be to find my way back here in the first place. "So what's up?"

"It's about Neji."

I felt a lump in my throat. Had I been caught snooping? Already? Does she know something? "Neji... Hyuuga?"

"Yes Neji Hyuuga there's no other Neji in the building." Okay, attempt to make serious conversation less serious: failure. "You and your friends are planning on bringing him along when you leave this place aren't you."

Okay wasn't expecting that. "...What?"

"I overheard them asking Neji about it," she admitted, looking kind of guilty.

My fear changed into irritation. "Wait those guys talked to him without me!" Then again I _was_ out like a light for a blank number of hours according to Rita. "Did he say anything?"

"He said he's making his decision tomorrow, but I doubt he really needs that much time to think about it." Truthfully, Tenten looked actually sad about it. She sank down against the wall to sit on the floor, and I did the same. "Your friends and Neji - you guys were pretty close back in Tokyo right?"

I couldn't deny that. "Fairly."

"Then he wouldn't hesitate to go with you," Tenten sighed with a smile. "He even wants too look for his cousin, so that's another reason he'd want to leave. But... for some reason, I don't feel happy about it."

"Well, of course you wouldn't. He helps run the entire estate. If even one of you guys left it'd be-"

"As selfish as this may sound, it's not about the kids for me," Tenten cut off. "_I_ feel... sad. _Me_. And I don't know why."

My thoughts returned to the picture, and I contemplated over whether I should mention it. Was it my place?

"Have you ever felt that way, Sakura? To feel something but you didn't know why?"

"At least once I think. Can't recall much on account of still having a headache but," I scratched my head. "By any chance... could have you known Neji even longer than the guys and me? On close terms even?"

She starred first. "I told you didn't I? We were neighbors and we saw each other but we never-"

"I saw a photo," I blurted out. I didn't mean to say that, especially when I saw Tenten's response written all over her face. It was subtle, but clearly readable. "You and Neji looked pretty close to me." I waited for her to say something, but instead she turned her head forward, wearing the same deep-in-thought look I probably wear often. "... Aren't you gonna lecture me about snooping places I shouldn't be? Or for invading personal boundaries or something?"

"Nah. It's alright," she said. "I'm actually kind of happy you saw it. It, reminds me that there was actually a time when... it existed."

I folded out my legs from under me into a more comfortable position, my mind open for storytelling. "When what existed?"

A smile sneaked its way across her lips. "We looked pretty happy in that picture didn't we? The one in that Hyuuga photo book, right?"

"Same one." I paused for a thought. "And yeah, you guys did look happy." Automatically my mind rewinded to an earlier point in time when Sasuke and I were like that, childish and just all about life. "Even I've never seen Neji look that happy - or _ever_ look happy in general." No sooner afterwards the two of us ended up laughing at what I said. Nonsensical, but true amusement we'd just felt. "What was it really like back then, Tenten?"

She finally looked happy reminiscing, and I anticipated with open ears. "We _were_ neighbors, and ever since we were allowed to walk to school, we've started meeting up every morning to take the same route. I guess that's sort of how we started out. Still, it was pretty far back."

"But what happened?"

Her smile dimmed. "We were each other's best friend for a long time. Years, but the only thing that ever got between us was martial arts." Martial arts? "As you know, Neji's family runs their own fighting style and will share it with students willing to learn at their dojos, Lee being one of them. Eventually I wanted to learn too, and for a while I wouldn't stop bugging Neji to ask his family to take me in as a student."

"_Come on Neji! Slow down!" the two brunettes ran across the empty dirt road back to their homes. They were just around the age of seven. Three years of friendship so far, and even now, they were already closer than most friends would, or should, be. Eventually the two came to a stop, both equally as tired. "Lucky! You're faster than me!"_

_"Nah I'd say we're pretty even," young Neji grinned._

_Tenten scoffed. "You're just sayin' that." Hearing the sound of a bell's ring in the air, she spotted an ice cream cart on the street, rolling their way. Not too soon after, the two children were sitting on the curb of their street, nonchalantly enjoying two ice cream cones. The long-lined street began with Tenten's house, then continuing there on with the rest of the Hyuuga residences. "Say, Neji, do you wanna go to the beach with my family and I next weekend? They wanted me to ask you."_

_"Can't. Lee and I are training with my uncle and my father then."_

_Tenten frowned. "Oh." She turned away from him, staring down at her ice cream cone. "Neji? How come I can't train with you?"_

_"Didn't you ask this already?"_

_"Your answer always changes. I wanna know the real one." Her ice cream was beginning to melt now. "You never want to do anything with me when it comes to fighting. Is it because I'm a girl?"_

_Neji hesitated. "No."_

_"Then why?"_

_"Because!" Neji looked lost for words, so that was all he could come up with at the moment._

Tenten laughed a little. "He never did give a straightforward answer to me about that, but somewhere along the line I did manage to persuade him to teach me what he'd learned from his family. And for a while I was okay with that. I was never as good as Neji, but still. I felt we were... closer when we were sparring together."

I tried to picture it, Neji and his childhood best friend, doing what they loved. Was there ever something Sasuke and I used to love to do? Just the two of us?

"But... one day, I walked home from school alone. Neji was doing 'special training' with his family that day. But, that _one day_, I just had to run into the most obnoxious group of boys from our school."

I wondered where this was going. "Did they cause trouble for you?"

"Like they have nothing else to do," she sighed. "I figured they were picking on me because Neji wasn't around that time. It's not unusual, but it still scared me. But, that time I finally knew how to defend myself. Or, at least I thought I did." Her eyes tensed. "They cornered me somewhere, and I used the techniques Neji taught me to fight back. In a way I regret fighting, but when I do I just remember that something worse could've come out of it if I didn't fight back."

"What did they do to you?"

"Nothing too bad. I ended up with a few stitches on my head and a few bruises, but it wasn't anything serious." Nothing serious? Does she hear herself? "Of course Neji visited me, and of course I told him the truth, but it just turned into this big... fight. We had our first real argument, and we never reached a settlement in it." Her gazed was glued to her knees. "I defended my case by saying I was defending myself, but Neji just kept saying I never should've fought back. It went back and forth that by now I really can't tell who was right, or if there even _was_ a right."

Can't say I can agree on one side. "So things were just left at that?"

Tenten sighed. "Sadly yes. The last thing he said to me was that he never should have taught me how to fight, that we never should have spent so many months training in my backyard. He... he said he regretted it." For a minute I wondered how it would've felt, to hear the word 'regret' from your best friend. "We ignored each other after that. There was so much of a grudge held up - I think it was a struggle between who would make the first move to, ask for forgiveness or, say they're sorry or something. But, no one ever said anything."

"And then he moved..."

Tenten nodded. "And when he came back, I guess the whole 'grudge' deal was blown over but, it was still awkward. We were like total strangers, and that hurt. It was like all that time we spent together as kids meant nothing to him."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"Doesn't seem like it," she opposed.

"Hey he brought you in, didn't he?" I placed a comforting friend's hand on her shoulder. "He wouldn't have if he didn't care." The smile from her response eased my nerves. "Now, about Neji possibly going with us when we leave - that is completely up to him. And I'm know it _is_a hard decision to make, and that's not just because of the kids either." Her smile was still there, barely, but still there. "You should talk to him about it."

She scoffed as my hand dropped. "Sasuke said the same thing."

I tried to hide my astonishment. "He did?"

"Mhm. He caught me eavesdropping on their private talk."

"Ah." I would've laughed, but my head was starting to throb a little. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed now. I still-" Suddenly a blood hurtling scream echoed down the dark depths of the hall. My head shot up and remained in place, my feet frozen and my shoulders tense.

"Sakura?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

_Guess not_. "A scream, from that way?"

"I didn't hear anything."

'_I know I did_'. "Stay with Rita and the kids in the ward. I'm gonna go check it out."

"But Sakura you're-!"

"I'll be alright!" I waved back with a cheerful smile, though, where have I heard that before? Rounding the short corner I made it to a private ground-floor mini garden on a fenced patio. Strangely enough it was brighter outside from the light of the beautiful full moon. Though, it's beauty was tainted only by what it shined over. In one of the front lawns of the building I saw a small number of zombies being fought off against two or three guards - the guards being kids. "Oh no."

"Where're they coming from?" I heard one scream.

"They must've passed the front gate somehow!"

"GUYS! THERE'S MORE COMING FROM THE FRONT WARN EV-AHHHH!" I was glad I couldn't see it, the sound of a kid being bitten by those, those monsters. As much as I wanted to just jump over and help them fight, I knew it wasn't the wisest decision in my pathetic 'condition', whatever it is exactly. But I couldn't bring myself to just run away either.

Picking up a decently large and heavy vase from the floor, a rather pretty purple flower growing from it, I held it over myself. "HEADS UP!" And with all my might I threw it down, it landing on a zombie's head just before it could bite one of the guards. At the pot's smash, the two guards finally noticed me. "Quit fighting them and get inside! We have to warn the compound!"

"B-But our orders were to remain outside and guard at our posts at all times-!"

"Well I have new orders and I say get your butts in here!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the two boys nodded at each other and ran in my direction. With my arm held out, I helped the over the small wooden railing and inside, shutting and locking the door (like that'd help). Meanwhile I myself ran down while trying to keep conscious. Guess that stress thing really can take a toll on you. '_I have to stay awake! I need to find the guys and warn everyone before it's too late!'_ I decided against just screaming for everyone to wake up. As sensible as that sounded, and as unrealistically organized everyone was, I knew chaos could only erupt from that action. This place would very well just end up like our high school: only about three survivors.

"Neji! Neji!" Not exactly screaming out 'zombie invasion' but all the same, it'd get the attention I needed. "Neji! Neji where are you!"

Running, I heard a door slide open a few feet behind me, and I turned around to see a tired looking Hyuuga, looking like I had woken him up. "Sakura what is it-"

"It's the dead. They're here."

Even five feet away he heard me as loud as a bell. His eyes perked up instantly. "How do you know?"

"I saw a few guards shouting a warning before he got bitten." I regretted the mental image now stuck in my mind of a child's blood spilling by the foul bite, like Ino. "What do you want me to do?"

Neji seemed prepared for what he wanted to do, though, no one can never _not_ be nervous in this situation. "I'll get the kids up. You get the guys ready to fight then meet up with Tenten."

"We're gonna fight with you guys?"

"No you're going to hide with the kids underground."

"Okay I- what?" My face blanked, and for a while I forgot that we were in mortal danger. "What do you mean _we_ have to hide?"

Neji gave me a look. "You're sick! You cant fight in-"

"My condition. I know. But what about Tenten? She's capable isn't she-"

"Just, hide, alright?" The sound of his voice sounded like he didn't have time for questions. Then again he really didn't. Without a complaint I obeyed the Hyuuga and ran back down my original route. Back to the guys room, I slammed the sliding door open, with sweat dripping down my sides. The sickness was beginning to set in. "Guys get up!"

"It's morning already...?" Naruto moaned, rolling over in his tangled covers.

I kicked his side as I went to try and force-shake Shikamaru from out under his pillow. "There's another zombie invasion and we need you guys up. Now."

Shikamaru tilted his head back towards me. "This better not be some cracked up joke of yours to get us out of bed."

"One, that's messed up. Two, I wish." I looked around. "And where's Sasuke?"

Hearing the sound of steel sliding, we looked up from the shadows of the dark room and saw Sasuke step dramatically out, holding his two dual wooden and steel swords. "Let's screw some heads."

Within a matter of only three minutes, the halls were lined with traffic of kids, all seeming to be going to some room. It was hard rushing through them, pushing them aside almost, but I could tell they were all trying to remain calm, like they've done this before. (duh they probably have). But still, the fear in their eyes will never be something easily forgotten.

"Alright sweetie in you go." Tenten was helping the younger division of kids crawl one by one through a crawl space in the wall beside a pushed over china-set case - apparently that would lead to lower ground.

"Tenten, I've finally found you!" I exclaimed,, half overjoyed and half mortified.

"You look exhausted." Gee thanks. "I'm just finishing up here with the younger kids before I go meet up with the guys in-"

"Neji wants us to hide too."

Her expression must have been the same as mine. "What?"

I rolled my eyes. "Neji thinks I'm too sick to fight. And sadly I think he's right."

"Wait you said 'us', so by us he meant me too?" I nodded three times. "No way! Just because he's the boss and calls the shots around he doesn't meant he can tell me whether or not I can fight zombies. It's like he's never seem me kill one before."

"This one's a large group," I warned, even admitting it to myself. "And thinking about it now I don't blame him. He wants you safe, right?"

As if just realizing that now, Tenten took it in, piece by piece. "Yeah, I guess he does." Her determined face returned, however. "Doesn't mean I'll obey orders though. You hide with the kids and I'll go fight okay?"

I knew there was no stopping her, so all I gave was a nod of approval. "Be careful for me?"

Tenten nodded, then lifted her head and turned with her hand cupped to the side of her mouth. "Hey! How many more kids do we have going into this hole!"

Suddenly a red-headed boy came running in, carrying Rita on his back. He looked like a guard, I think. "There's about ten more. Then this one I found in the medical ward."

"She must've been sleeping through the whole thing," Tenten pitied, taking her off his hands. Tenten then turned to me as the last kid went through the crawl space. "Sakura, can you watch Rita?"

"No problem." Taking her from Tenten's arms I positioned the sleeping girl over my back. She was lighter than I thought, even for a little girl.

Tenten also took something out from her back pocket. A hand gun. "And take this just in case." I nodded before taking it and placing it in my pocket. "Like I said, be careful, Tenten." She made sure I went through the small hole in the wall. Carrying Rita, I just barely fit into the kid-sized hole. Crouching down was my best strategy, but looking back I could see Tenten already pushing the china-case in front of the hole, sealing off the light.

"Sakura...?" Rita moaned tiredly.

"Yeah, it's me. We're okay. We're just going into hiding alright?"

"But... my brother..." she sound a little out of it, but then I couldn't blame her. "He, he's in danger."

No lie there. "All we can do now is hope he'll be okay." I wanted to say he would be fine, but I didn't want to chance it in case something _did_ happen to him. I felt a little depressed inside how easily I dismissed the others fighting outside. I barely even felt any worry for Sasuke, Naruto, _or_ Shikamaru - but that was just because I'd grown used to it. Had I grown used to, death too? Even to the deaths of children? "We can just hope..."

Rita didn't appear to be listening. "... I want Naya-Nichan..." Wah! I know this is a sad moment but she's just really cute right now!

"We have orders Rita." I came into a small cavern at the end of the tunnel, where dozens of children were sitting down in a crouching position, waiting, afraid. I set her down on the ground, helping her sit up against the cave's dirt walls. "We have to believe the others can handle this."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Elsewhere in the Hyuuga Compound, havoc wreaked the otherwise peaceful-looking building. There was barely any battle outside. Most f the action took place inside, in spacious rooms and narrows halls. Despite the organized protection preparation made, it would seem the house was caught off guard, or maybe even outnumbered by the looks of things.

Sasuke ran down a hall with his sword, beheading zombie in their way. Behind him was Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee. They reached one of the compound's living rooms, luckily void of any living dead. However the floors were littered with pools of faint blood and the corpses of defeated zombies. The kids who battled before them must have taken care of the job already. At least there.

"We'll be safe for now," Sasuke panted as the boys took their rest.

"These guys have the entire house, Neji." Lee announced. "What do we do?"

"Anything we _can_ do to get rid of them," Neji said with an appearing glare. He knew too well that not many of the kids fighting would make it. Sure he trained them in the ways of defeating the undead. but with so many at once and without warning, he couldn't help but have faltering faith. Then thoughts of Tenten began to cloud his mind as well. "We need to split up. Cover more ground of the house to secure more areas."

"Aw, I hate splitting up," Naruto whined with a heavy and noticeable sigh. "Can't we all just stick together and bust some heads _TOGETHER_?"

"Are you that scared?" Shikamaru stated, less as a question.

"No! I just hate splitting up because I always get stuck fighting alongside this guy!" he exclaimed, extending his bat in Sasuke's direction, who more or less didn't appear to care about Naruto's opinion.

Neji rolled his eyes. "This wing of the building is already secure, so the rest of this home should be clear soon. Lee, I want you to take Shikamaru and Naruto to the second House and make sure that building is clear. Sasuke and I will take care of the rest of this place then move on to the rest of the property down the street. We continue for as long as we can to rid the Estate of them. Understood?"

The group nodded, and Lee took his division to find the exit. Both Neji and Lee knew every inch of the estate property, so as long as they had leaders to guide them, they'd be relatively safe, relatively speaking.

Sasuke turned to Neji with his wooden sword over his shoulder. "So what now, chief?"

Neji looked over his shoulder, seeing a clear hall pathway. "We fight to protect this building, and this building only."

Sasuke arched his eyebrows. "But didn't you say-?"

"I know. But in case you've forgotten this is the main building. A majority of the kids we take care of reside in hiding under these floors, including our ill and injured. I wasn't lying when I said the dead have infested this Home. Lee can lead the others pretty quickly, assuming they can keep up with him. They should be able to take care of a lot of small problems in faster ways than we can alone."

"And us?"

"This place is much more dangerous than everything out there combined. Believe it or not I gave us the harder job."

"I'm fine with that," Sasuke grinned, actually looking forward to the fights. "But you - are you sure you can fight these guys without a weapon? I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but one bite or one scratch from those teeth and you're a gonner." Neji's eyes narrowed. "I haven't seen you fight yet, so you can't blame me for being doubtful."

His eyes darted to the corner of his eye. Before Sasuke could question, he felt the breath in him fly away as Neji's palm hit his chest, blowing him back across the room until he hit a wall. It wasn't anything major or injuring, but looking up from eyes that thought betrayal, he saw something much different. Neji looked up, seeing a one of the dead pounce down from the large room's upper railings on it's second floor. As the zombie flew down with hungry signs, Neji inadvertently stuck his palms up in a foreign fighting stance unknown to Sasuke. And the look in his eye - total focus.

Before he knew it, Sasuke saw the zombie fly away too, smashing into the wall head first. Sasuke never even knew one could take out a zombie that way. He sent a wary look to Neji, who resumed a normal standing stance before walking over to Sasuke to help him up. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Sorry," Neji said first. "He would've gotten you first if I hadn't pushed you out of the way."

"Flying across the room and practically cracking the wall was a 'push'?" Sasuke scoffed. "Look I'm not mad or anything but... wow."

Neji said nothing at first. "The fighting style the Hyuugas use deal with using the opponent's body against them. Pressure points to hit with extra blows without much effort. We study the human body until we know it like our name." Neji looked to his defeated zombie. "Unfortunately the undead is different. They don't react to pressure point hits, so I have to deal with them by using thier own weight against them. It's not as easy, but it works."

"I'll say..." Blood began to pool around its smashed head. "Good to know we'll have you if we run into any human adversaries, assuming you'll be coming with us." The two began to run down the hall to secure another part of the building. "_Have_ you made your decision yet?"

"Is now really the time to ask that?" Neji easily pushed away one of the dead without any fear of touching it.

However the two came to a halt in he center of the hall, right before a door. A zombie had just flown out of it, crashing into the wall with an impending force that the wall crashed through. Neji and Sasuke, obviously startled, looking over. The zombie was still alive, and Sasuke took it upon himself to do the honors of finally ending its life. With one swift slice of his metal sword, it was over. "I doubt you did that."

"I'm a martial artist not a psychic." Neji and Sasuke looked towards the door frame from where the zombie flew. "Someone's in there fighting." And without a moment's hesitation, the two boys, ready to fight more undead, looked in an saw a single person standing surrounding by about five defeated and headless zombies. Neji's eyes widened. "Tenten?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Mhm... Ah?" My blurry eyes opened, and what began to form in front of me, or rather all around me, was a crowd of young eyes peered curiously over me, up to a point I thought that maybe I was dreaming. Slightly (coughmajorlycough) weirded out, I stared left and right for a sec, trying to comprehend if I had just missed something. "Uh..."

"She's awake..." one stated, as if it weren't supposed to happen.

I forced myself to sit up straight on my own, feeling the creases of dirt against my back from where I was probably sleeping for who knows how long. Being sick, I must've dozed off again. Though despite the crowd of boys mysteriously watching my a little too close, I looked around for Rita. "R-Rita?"

"She's not here," said a boy.

"Huh?"

"She left," another told.

"What do you mean she left?"

Another explained as I searched for my gun, feeling my pocket empty. "While you were out, she said she wanted to go look for her brother."

So she wanted to go after Naya. "Well why didn't you guys stop her!"

"She had your gun," all said simultaneously.

I sweatdropped, wondering how a girl who can barely stand could manage to sneak a gun away from me and to her advantage threaten dozens of boys with a mere naive mind to find her brother. "And none of you woke me up _why_?"

"We thought you looked cute sleeping," another boy grinned, trying to crawl up to my lap. My face froze up, weirded out beyond belief. Makes you wonder what' worse, being down here with a bunch of pre-pubescent boys, or fighting the undead.

Before they knew it I had stood up, somewhat healed from my previous fatigue. "I'm going out to find Rita. All of you _stay. put_. Got it?" Strangely enough they listened, and I was off through the crawl space. I didn't know why I had such an urge to protect Rita. Maybe it's what they call 'mother's instinct'. Nonetheless, if she died... "...it'd be my fault."

Getting through to the other side, I reentered a vacant room and I looked for some sort of substitute weapon. Unfortunately all I could manage to scour up was a broken table leg. Not exactly a bat, but I can use it.

I ran out the door to make sure the coast was clear. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire house was already taken care of, knowing Neji and his superhuman kid pupils. "Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious..."


	11. Out of Place

**I AM SOOOO SOOORRRY THAT THIS TOOK SO FRICKIN LONG! ****It's been since so long since I've updated. Since like, _August_. Dude. I am not proud of myself. **

**And to those who have been waiting patiently and faithfully for this update, thank you so much! Despite me not updating in an eternity, it's still one of my more popular stories, so thanks, you guys!**

**As for _w h y_I've been ... postponing this chapter, I've been getting distracted a lot. And partially writter's block stricken.**

**(SKIP THE REST OF BOLD PRINT IF YOU DO NOT CARE TO HEAR MY RANT OF AN EXPLANATION)**

**Okay. So I've been spending so much time with my best friend since the high school year's started, so time for working on this story's been escaping me a lot.**

**In all actuallity I had this chapter three quarters of a way done back in December, but I got, uh, even more distracted (don't want to say depressed) and I just gave up on this story for a while.  
See my best friend stopped talking to me for some reason, so I thought I did something to make him anngry before Christmas break - thus inducing my sad writter's block and lack of monivation for writing about teen heroines who fall for their best guy friend, _since I've fallen for him all over again after I thought I got over him_.**

**So, after like three months of of not talking to me, ignoring me, and not even looking at me, I totally gave up and just came to accept that my best friend/crush totally hates me, and I will forever be an emotional wreck because I HAD NO FRICKIN IDEA WHAT I DID.**

**But then About a month or two ago, he followed me to our old secret hang out in a secluded part of the park, since I like going there. I was suprised to see him there that night, but then he actually confessed that he _liked_ me... to me... and Wow. **

**Apparently the reason he was ignoring me was because he found out that a bunch of our other guy friends all for some weird reason started telling him that they all liked me, and like ALL of them were going to him for help with getting to me. (Oh that so sounds so fanfic worthy...) And he felt guilty for being around me because his friends liked me too soo... yeah. It would seem he just go so frustrated with himself that he just wound up telling me that he liked me before any of the others could. **

**And... yeah. Well, long story short, I have my first boyfriend! (Inner yay!) And that is why I've been procrastinating on so many of my stories.  
Well, here's this chapter, _finally_. Hopefully it's good enough for you guys! Thanks!**

* * *

"AGHH!" Sasuke circled with his sword, taking out a multiple of zombies crowding around him. In the distance, Neji and Tenten were forced to fend off together in thier corner of the room. Sasuke and Neji, previously patrolling one branch of the estate, had ran into Tenten, whom according to Neji wasn't even supposed to be out in the open.

"I thought I told you to stay hidden underground!" scolded Neji as he took out another dead.

"Yeah and leave the action to you 'men'? Neji this is the twenty-first century girls can fight!"

A silent groan escaped Neji's lips. "You idiot it's not about that!"

Sasuke landed on his feet, seeing a crowd of zombies charging down from the hallway outside. "Hey lovebirds! Fight now, bicker later!" Of course he was ignored.

Meanwhile with me, I was supposedly supposed to be watching the kids in the underground hide-away, remember? (Me being 'terminally ill' and not allowed to fight zombies). Well Rita, a little girl I'd bonded with, apparently had the nerve to sneak off with my gun while I was out cold. And did I mention she can barely walk? At all?

Now here I am scouring the empty halls of the Hyuuga compound looking for mer with only a broken wooden table leg as my weapon. The entire way I've only seen two or three live zombies, which I easily took out with the table leg as a makeshift for my missing bat. It worked well, but still, I felt eerily defenseless as I struggled to move around. "Dammit Rita where are you?" I mutter under my deep tired breaths.

Checking every room, thankfully but hopelessly emptpy (if that makes sense) I began to wonder just how she could've gotten so far. She can't walk, right? The worst case scenario came to mind - she could've been dead already. Instantly I shook my head of the thought, because it started to lead to the same worry for my other friends fighting somewhere in this jungle of a home.

As much as my body was against it, I ran at a record-breaking speed, my brain ignoring the signals telling me I wasn't well enough to do so. My footsteps headed past an open room, the room where Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke were fending off a couple of outsider zombies. I saw Sasuke manage to catch a glimpse of the flying pink hair behind my head as he almost did a double take, if not for the zombie trying to over-take him. Sasuke then, with a new motivation to catch me, managed to behead the zombie. "Neji, Tenten, you cover things here I need to go check on something."

The two replied with an 'okay', despite not really wanting to be left alone with each other's company. Anyone could see that. Even Sasuke. However he knew they'd solve things eventually and he took off with his swords.

He tried to listen well for the sound of tapping footsteps and ran in the same general direction as me. I otherwise was beginning to feel panicked, if not already. Miraculously I had made it to the very other end of the compound and around. No sign of little Rita. I crouched down to my knees, feeling failure and nausea all at the same time. My eyes swirled as I held my head with one of my hands. Please let the room stop spinning for just one minute. "What did I do to deserve this...?"

"Deserve what may I ask?" Sasuke approached me in a calmer manner, kneeling down next to me.

I managed to focus my attention and recognize him last minute. "Sasuke?" My head was hot, my sight unfocused, my mind swelling to other places.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the shelter with the other kids."

"Yeah but one of them ran out and I had to find her-" A not-so-missed pain went through my head and unwillingly I fell towards Sasuke, who caught me by the arms. A blush was inevitable on his part. "She's sick too, and she can't fight," I managed out. "Let alone walk right."

Sasuke stood back up, supporting me by my side. He felt the urge to lecture me about how stupid I was to come up here in this state thinking I could A. find a missing girl and B. fight for my life. But he decided against it. The raging headache stabbing within my head was punishment enough, he figured. "Come on, I'll help you find her."

Walking at an eighth of the speed I had run before, Sasuke and I wandered the single-floor building yet again. Cutting to the chase of a _very_ long walk, we ended up at the porch of the same spot where the guys and I first arrived when we found this place. I noticed a few of of the older-children guards fending the entrance to the house from a crowd of zombies trying to trespass into the estate. How had this gone unseen for so long? They need help! And among those fighting were Naya, Rita's older brother.

"Naya," I half-yelled and half-whispered. My lungs were to weak to reach my wanted volume.

Reading my mind, Sasuke set me down in a well-enough hiding spot and went to help fight the oncoming army of undead. I watched helplessly a I stumbled to step forward, only to end up crawling just to see. I was feeling so beyond upset that I couldn't do anything but watch. "Please be careful."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Meanwhile back _inside_ the compound, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten has just finished clearing a sector of the house of its zombies. It took more than intended to, but Naruto blamed the constant bickering between Neji and Tenten as the reason. In between all the battle cries and the sounds of splatter of blood across the room, you could always hear the comedic and out-of-place argument rising above it. Naruto gave up telling them to shut-up long ago. But now that the fighting was done (for now) things were back to normal tone.

"That took longer than expected," Tenten grumbled, putting one of her weapons into her belt.

"Yeah I wonder why," Naruto scoffed, refusing to look in their general direction.

"We can't rest now. The house is still under attack," Neji reminded them. "Naruto, you and I will split up. We should be able to take on any remainder of the zombies on our own, and hopefully run into Sasuke if we're lucky."

"And what do you expect me to do?" Tenten demanded, sadly knowing what Neji already wanted her to do.

Neji suppressed a frustrated groan. "Tenten I told you once before already - _go. hide_."

"No," she rebutted, taking a stand in front of Neji. She had to tilt her head up towards him too as she clenched her fists together to hold herself back from hitting him.

"Guys is now really the time?" Naruto sweatdropped, going unnoticed once more as he tried to settle them down. "Gah forget it! Neji I'm heading out. You better too, soon." And with that Naruto unwillingly ran out of the room for their privacy.

Neji had watched Naruto leave at the corner of his eye, and turned them to look back at the stubborn girl before him. "Why do you want me to go hide anyway? I'm just as good a fighter as you and Lee - you know that," she said in a more gentler tone, one less argumentative and confronting compared to before. "I can _help_, Neji."

He knew that. "Maybe I just can't risk loosing you," he said aloud in a barely audible tone. His response obviously caught Tenten by surprise. It showed in her eyes, which narrowed less and relaxed more. "We can manage fighting them off without you. You'll be safer this way, and I won't have to worry as much."

The way Tenten perceived things, she couldn't really believe any of it. Was this guy, Neji Hyuuga, actually expressing worry and concern aloud? To _her_? "What meaning do I have to you anyway? We're just soldiers on the battle front remember?" she said with a somewhat fake tone to her voice. "Nothing more nothing less." The breaking of her voice, she couldn't show it. Not now.

Unwillingly and unconsciously, Neji found himself lifting his hands to her shoulders. He gave one a gentle squeeze and lifted his other hand to the side of her face. Despite how she looked, covered in blood and cut and torn, her skin was as soft as ever. "You and I both know that we were at least friends before."

Tenten closed her eyes. It was a self-defense mechanism to keep her from crying. Crying now over old memories - this was the last place she needed to think about it. They were fighting for their lives, dammit. "I just want to fight along side you."

"But not at the expense of getting you hurt again," Neji admitted, caressing his thumb over her cheek. Her eyes were still closed. "Do you remember back when we were kids, when you ended up in the hospital after getting into a fight with some guys?"

"You remember that?"

"I remember it every time I see you in any potential danger," Neji said with the tiniest laugh. A rare sight indeed. "And I can't help remembering how much guilt I felt after seeing you like that."

Confusion hit Tenten's face. Despite her eyes still being closed, you could easily read it on the rest of her face. "Guilt? What would you have to be guilty for? I got myself into that mess. It had nothing to do with you."

He continued to caress her cheek. "Maybe so, but I brought you into the world of martial arts. If I hadn't then maybe they wouldn't have been so provoked to beat you up so much." Neji's eyes softened. "I couldn't have you getting hurt again because of what I did."

"So that's why you don't want me fighting," Tenten whispered, holding her hand up to his, the one on her face. His hand was cold against her touch.

Neji shut his eyes to as his forehead rested against hers. He couldn't risk loosing her. Tenten getting hurt was one thing, but her dying, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. "Please stay somewhere safe..."

Tears had begun to fall from Tenten's closed eyes. "..._Okay_..."

Neji opened his eyes, noticing the tears so close to his face. He wiped one with the edge of his thumb, and noticing how close he was to her face he felt his own heat up for a second. But, being so in control of his emotions, and to not be for once, it felt so new. So... natural. Part of him wanted to much to just kiss her. Just once. He was about to, too, but he decided against it instead saying. "_Thank you_." Last minute he retracted and let go of her face, running out of the room to do his job, and leaving Tenten in the wake.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The boys were still trying to fight off the zombies in front of the house, while I meanwhile was trying to be useful in any way possible - from throwing rocks or sharp objects to yelling out warnings like 'watch your back' or 'look out'. But soon enough however, I felt the sound of rushing footsteps behind me. If I were more delirious I would've thought it was another zombie, but those footsteps were too well patterned and up right to be that of the dead's. And more surprisingly, it turned out to be Neji.

"Sakura?" he panted, surprised to see me too. "What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be-"

"Hiding with the kids, I know," I finished for him as I sat on the wooden floor. "One ran out and I had to go look for her, and I ran into Sasuke on the way." We both looked up, seeing the horrific war scene. "Go fight with them. I'll help from here."

Neji nodded. "This may be the last part of the house under attack."

"That's good," I nodded as Neji ran off. It amazed me sometimes how well he can fight. Its inhumane really. But still, sitting here helpless, you get over it after a while. No use complaining about how you can't do anything. Well, back to throwing fake garden rocks and broken pottery shards.

"GAH!"

I shot my head up, looking for the source of the cry. _Naya_. I knew his voice. Rita's brother. I found him defending him self all alone on one side of the yard apart for the rest of the others. All he had was a metal spear, which he was currently using to hold back a zombie's bite. Of course when it comes to brute force, zombies win over pre-teen boys.

"Naya," I uttered, unable to yell. Looking for something I could at least throw, I managed to see his spear be thrown my way by the zombie - by accident of course. Zombies have no aim. It missed by me five inches, but it made me notice just how close to death Naya was. I couldn't keep quiet now. "SOMEONE HELP HIM!" I tried to yell to Neji or Sasuke. But even if they had heard me, they were too far to come in time. The zombie was standing across a sitting Naya, trapped on the ground. It was ready to bite him, too, like a lion ready to punch on its prey.

'_No_...' I thought. '_He's going to die_'. He's going to die. '_He's going to die_!'

"NAYA!" yelled a whispering wind rushing past my sitting figure. My eyes dilated as my face twisted into something more horrific.

In the quickest speed - faster than Neji and Lee combined - another figure had already run past me and across the short distance into the dark garden and in between the zombie and Naya. As the zombie charged, it was intercepted y the figure, biting and tackling it instead. It didn't take long for a gun shot from one of the other kid guards to hit the zombie's head, but the damage was already done to the stranger who protected Naya. They'd been bitten in the shoulder. They... _Rita_.

I had finally realized who it was. And Naya, when he realized it too, he had already broken down. "_RIITAA!_" Despite his injuries, the boy got up and ran and limped to his sister. The zombie next to her was long gone now, but she was still miraculously alive. I had forced myself to stand up as well. I had to run to them, to try save her, anything. The things running through Naya's mind - it must have been like when I watched Ino get bit.

I ran as fast as I could to them, dropping to my knees. Naya was cradling his sister, crying and sniffling through his words in an atempt to sooth her. I could sense Rita trying to remain calm. She knew she was dying, and she knew she was in pain. But even though she tried to hide it, she just cried. Stiffling her screams instead of her tears. Her whimpers, her shaky hands clutching the hem of her brother's shirt.

"Rita, Rita no...!" Naya sobbed, squeezing her to him. "Why did you do that, you idiot! You stupid idiot you, stupid... stupid...!"

Despite Rita's hiccups and cries, she tried to smile, just for him, and me. "I wanted to protect you, Niichan... Besides-" She coughed, drowning in her own blood. "Besides... I was dying anyway... I wanted to put my life to good use for once... I wanted to be with you, big brother..." She squeezed his hand, close to her heart. Looking at both him and me last, I knew what she was about to say next. "Sakura neechan... please... my Niichan won't do it, so you have to."

"D-Do what?" Naya asked, as if he had already forgotten.

"You know what I'm talking about, Niichan..." Rita whispered, her eye glowing dimmer and dimmer by the second. I couldn't will myself to cry just yet. "The Hyugga Compound's number one rule for its guards... if a kid i ever bitten, they have to be killed on the spot." I heard Naya's breath halt as he squeezed his little sister's hand, and Rita smiled to me. "Please Sakura...?" she asked in the sweetest voice before coughing up more blood. "Please," she practically begged this time. He voice had lost its gentle peacefullness, replaced in a second with desperation and plea. I couldn't have her turn. She had to die herself... like Ino.

"Rita - Rita no- RITA!" Sasuke had come just in time, holding Naya back. Naya screamed, trying to break away as he knew what would come if he didn't stop it. But could I even do it? Sadly I would never get to find out, because Sasuke had come for me to. While holding Naya with one arm against his chest, Sasuke's hand merely covered my eyes as I heard the sound of a sword cut through in Rita's direction. In between Sasuke's loose fingers, I identified Neji's shadow. He had done the deed for us.

By now, all fighting had ceased. Rita was dead, and the only sound in the entire yard was that of Naya's heavy breathing. Who could blame him? So young was he, and to loose and feel like you were unable to protect you kid sister. Your _already dying_ kid sister. With the rest of the zombies defeated and Sasuke and Neji here, and the rest of the kid guards that were fighting along side them, we had all gathered around Rita's body. By the time Sasuke released Naya and lifted his hand from my eyes, a cloth was already present over Rita's head, her body laying still like it were sleeping back in the nursing room inside the compound.

Naya fell to his knees. He knew it was inevitable, but still. He just knelt there, staring at his own flesh and blood laying before him. All I could do was hold him to me and let him cry against my chest. His arms instinctively swung around my shoulders as he cried, his chest heaving and his tears staining my already blood-stained shirt. "It's over now," I whispered, rubbing the back of his head. "The fighting's over..."

Sunset had begun beyond the Hyuuga compound. Scouting the rest of the house for survivors wasn't exactly that much work. Most of it was just ridding the place of its infestation of decapitated zombies - and lots of blood cleaning. Unfortunately a few kid guards were lost, but not tremendously as much as I thought. They _are_ strong. Most survived - which was more than I could say for Tokyo. By daylight, a small burial ceremony was held in another garden of the compound. It's a small graveyard for the kids lost, and twelve more were added to those lost in the fighting over the night. Plus one more, Rita, the first _normal_ kid to die in an invasion of the dead.

According to Neji, normally when a soldier dies here in a line of duty, usually its his fellow guards and close friends who attend the burial. But this time, because it was Rita; little, cute, life-loving Rita, the first non-soldier victim of this plague - everyone attended. The garden was filled to the brim with kids. Some were on the roof of the patio while others were looking out wall-windows from inside the halls surrounding the outside garden. This burial - this unity - This place never ceases to amaze me.

Sasuke and I stood under the shade of a cherry blossom tree as we watched Naya place a flower on his sister's grave. A white rose scoured for in the city by Tenten, Neji, and Lee personally. For burials, those three always scour for natural flowers. They had lost their sensei as well - Gai-sensei, according to Lee and Naruto. The youth-given service wasn't all that depressing. In a way, they may it seem more honorable than mourning and sad. It was like death to them wasn't the worst thing in the world, unlike how we see it as the end of everything we love. Their outlook is... much brighter than ours.

"They seem to be alright," Sasuke mentioned, leaning against the tree with his arms crossed.

I could only nod in agreement, hugging my arms. "Naruto looks like he's got Naya covered." Over in the distance, Naruto was kneeling in front of Naya, surrounding by some other young boys who looked like they were all comforting him, right next to Rita's grave. Within a matter of seconds, all of them appeared to be covered in grins and laughter as the boys all randomly dog-pilled Naruto, Naya laughing beside them. He even noticed me and gave me a big smile and wave, to which I responded the same.

Sasuke then turned his head to see Neji talking with Shikamaru across the garden in private. He could take a wild guess as to what they were talking about. "Hey, Sakura."

I turned around. "Yeah?" I was met by a serious stare.

"Now that things appear to be almost wrapped up here, any clue as to where we go now?" He put some effort into a half-smile. "We've already got Shikamaru, and maybe or maybe not Neji. And as for Kiba, he may or may not be in America. It's your call."

"I have considered that," I mentioned, about us being at a dead end right about now. "I've talked to Neji a little while ago. He hasn't told me his decision yet, but he mentioned to me about his missing cousins. If we're done here I'd like to look for them for him, regardless of whether he comes with us or not."

"What so now we're a search-and-rescue detective service case?"

I narrowed my eyes wit a scoff. "Well do you have anything better to do? Staying here would just burden the compound and the kids. And at this point if we've gathered all the people we've been looking for, then there's really nothing else to do."

"You haven't thought everything through have you."

I turned slightly away with a blush. "Well it's not like we have the resources to _fly_ all the way to America just to _check_ to see if Kiba's around."

"I guess, but, are we just giving up on Kiba?"

"No," I answered instantly. I could never give up on one of us. Even for someone as far away as Kiba. "We're just... going to have to keep looking for a way. But, right now, let's just see how things go with Neji."

On the other side of the garden, now that the kids have settled down - some having gone inside while a few deciding to play in the children's graveyard - Neji and Shikamaru were seated on the wooden planks against the house, watching over the children during their talk.

"So you're coming," Shikamaru repeated for clarification.

"Yes," Neji replied. "I want to find Hanabi. I could never forgive myself if she was still out there, waiting for one of us to find her."

"Come on Tenten this way! The cherry blossoms are in bloom!" yelled one of the little girls as they dragged the brunette into a crowd of other girls surrounding a tree.

"Sakura you too!" yelled another pre-teen girl, coming to drag me away from Sasuke and the shade to show us another blooming cherry blossom tree.

Shikamaru, being the genius he was, easily noticed Neji's attention shift to Tenten. "And the girl?"

"Hm?"

Shikamaru nodded his head in their direction. "A little blond bird tells me you have a thing for her?"

"Naruto," both boys said in dread. Goes to show Naruto can't keep his mouth shut when he's aggravated by something, aka Tenten and Neji's arguing during the zombie invasion.

"I've told her already, though," Neji mentioned. "About my decision to leave. I told her during our last raid into the city, right before the burials."

"Is that so," Shikamaru sighed, hinting that this may ave not ended well. "How'd she take it?"

"I don't know," Neji answered honestly, watching the girl play amongst the children. "But, I don't think she's all too happy about it."

_"What?" Tenten and Lee expressed simultaneously._

_"I said I'll be going with the others, when they leave the compound," Neji repeated, keeping his eyes down. The three were seated privately at a small table; Neji on one side with Tenten and Lee on the other. Everything was silent for that moment. "With Gai-Sensei gone, I'm leaving Lee in charge of the children and the compound."_

_Instinctively as a friend Lee and the urge to object, but as one of the adults of the house, all he could manage to do was one of his trademark salutes partnered with a straight face. "Of course!" he replied honorably. "May you... have a safe trip."_

_For the first time Neji looked his old friend in the eye, giving a respectful nod in return._

_Lee then sent a sideways glance to Tenten in her silence. "Shall I go break the news to the children in an assembly?"_

_"No. I will tonight, at dinner. We'll have the assembly tonight after the final dinner period."_

_"Then I will take my leave then," Lee said, bowing his head respectfully before standing up to leave. He gave Tenten a quick pat on the back before leaving though. But with Lee gone, it was just the two left._

_Long muted silence passed by as neither teen said anything. However, Neji was the first. "Tenten I-" But before he could go on, Tenten cut him off and ran to leave the room. She said not a word as she did_.

"And she just took off?" Shikamaru summed up. He ended with a long-winded sigh. "Girls. Troublesome to deal with, but, what else can they do?"

"I see you still haven't changed," Neji remarked.

"Most of us haven't really, if that isn't surprising enough."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

By sunrise the next day, Sasuke and Nejji had helped me decide the next step in our grand wing-it plan. First, we don't have a particular destination we really need to get to, but Neji mentioned that his family owns an armory storage warehouse out west in Osaka. The 'Hyuuga Armory' it's called, apparently. It's supposed to have a bunch of weapons and supplies, and hopefully food by the time we reach the city.

So, that's where we're going now I guess - until we can figure out what we're gonna do.

"Goodbye, Neji," Lee said with a salute. "May you and the others have a safe journey."

Neji smiled at his long time friend, and at the rally of children behind Lee as well. Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto, and I could only gape at the actual amount of kids here to see Neji off. According to Lee it's the entire household, occupying the entire long-lined street. Some even sat up on the rooftops and others in trees or lamposts.

"Remember, Gai isn't here anymore to lead the kids. _You_'ll be the one taking over, okay?" Neji warned.

"Until you return," Lee grinned in his plain friendly manner, dropping his salute. He then went on to give Neji a firm br-hand shake, something that sort of caught us off guard. "Take care."

"You too," Neji smiled, before realizing he'd forgotten something. "And, Tenten?"

Lee's confident grin faded into that of an awkward turn of the head. "She, never came out of her room this morning. I tried getting her to come out but, she wouldn't unlock her door." Part of me (or a whole lot of me) felt really bad for taking Neji away from this place. It was his decision really, but still.

"Am I the only one feeling like crap?" Naruto asked from his seat atop the van. He must've read my mind.

I nodded in recognition. "It's so obvious that he likes her. I feel so sad for him."

Neji bid his last few goodbyes before turning towards us and walking out war. We took that as our cue to start boarding the van. Sasuke walked around to the driver's seat while Naruto slid in from the roof through the window and into the passenger's seat. Shikamaru opened the back of the van and crawled in, waiting for me. I was about to go as Neji arrived at the Van, but a scream from the crowd of children halted us.

"WAIT!" a shrill high pitched voice cried.

Neji turned around and I leaned back to see beyond the van door. That voice, I recognized it, and I smiled. "Tenten?" Neji uttered in disbelief.

The crowd of children slowly parted way for Tenten, running down the street and towards our van. She looked completelly exhausted and ready to faint, but she persisted until she ran straight into Neji. She practically was ready to collapse but Neji held her up. He just held her there, with her face buried in his chest. I turned away to give them privacy, but I couldn't help but hear the whimpering in Tenten's voice, signaling her crying.

"Neji," she whispered, unwilling to remove her face from Neji's shirt and let him see her. "I'm sorry, for everything!... Just, please... don't go without knowing that I still care about you." Her grip on his shirt tightened. "And I don't care if you still resent me deep down but just please know that I don't really hate you and-"

The force of Neji's risen arms cut her off, muffling her sobs. He hugged her tightly, resting his chin atop of her brunette head. He inhaled, smelling the scene of his old best friend. "I never resented you, Tenten."

The guys and I watched the unfolding scene before us. I leaned against the door of the van, arms crossed with a content smile on my face. Shikamaru's head was leaning out the back of the van while Sasuke watched from his open window. Naruto had jumped out of the driver's seat and watched from the other side of the van with his elbows resting on the roof.

"Well ain't that nice," Naruto grinned, content with this ending as well.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Talk about cheesy."

"Oh shut it," Naruto barked.

"You know," I said, walking forward. I felt slightly hessitant about maybe interrupting. "You can come with us too, Tenten - if you want, that is."

Tenten starred at me in utter shock as she lifted her head from Neji's chest. Neji looked rather surprised, too. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Of course," I said, still smiling. How could I not?

"It won't be too much trouble bringing the both of us?" Neji asked, still holding Tenten.

"I don't think so," I shrugged.

"You should go, Tenten!" yelled one of the girls from the crowd behind Lee.

"Yeah! Stay with Neji please!"

"You'll both be lonely without each other!"

"Go have adventures together!"

"And if you get married, be sure to come back so you can have the wedding here with us!"

That last one got both blushing to the point Neji had to force himself to let go as Tenten stepped shyly back. I held in my laughter. "Let me just ask the guys, first."

"You really have to ask?" Naruto asked me in that 'oh really' tone. "Tenten better come! Who else is going to control that ultra-long pony tail bonehead while we're traveling? Sakura's already got her hands full controlling Sasuke." That last one was met with a punch to a lower region by Sasuke, leading to Naruto's upper torso sliding off the roof.

Shikamaru shrugged, stepping out of the back of the van. "I'm okay with it. I think having the both of them around would be helpful anyway."

Sasuke then showed us one of his rare half smiles, mostly directed at me. "And you're the boss of this whole trip, anyway. I go with whatever you think is best."

Ah, if only if I could cry. That'd be too cheesy. "You guys are the best." In no time, Tenten had her own small bag of packed belongings and we were all situated at the van, Sasuke driving us off. The front gates to the Hyuuga compound opened, and with that we were well on our way to Osaka.

Mm. Let's see. Now, it's me, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and our new friend Tenten. (Finally another girl.) But still, I like how things all turned out. We atcually have numbers now. And not just that, but we're actually accomplishing out goal of finding everyone. '_Now if only getting Kiba was that easy..._'


End file.
